Perfect Recall
by Boidogan
Summary: The battle between the Jyuubi and Naruto ends in tragedy, even with the turned Sasuke's and the four Hokages' assistance. Sasuke and Sakura are given the chance to change the outcome, and they take it. The two are sent back to their Genin days, and now the future is tentative as the two struggle through hardships, new and old. Major SasuSaku Minor NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

**This time-travel fic was inspired by a couple of others focusing on NaruHina, but I decided to try to write one based on SasuSaku. I hope you like!**

**Chapter 1**

There was a great flash, then a still darkness, an all-encompassing darkness. Sasuke Uchiha opened his onyx eyes and saw this embodiment of nothing. '_Wh-where am I?' _He sat up and found himself in a dimly-lit, seven-foot cubic room. '_Gah, last I remember was going to a strangely warm sleep next to-' _he choked slightly, '_dead Sakura.' _He shook his head, trying to clear it, but the memories of that fateful battle came back.

He, along with past four Hokages, had challenged Madara and Obito, who controlled the Jyuubi. Naruto had seemed understandably stunned by the appearance of Sasuke and his father, but had grinned jubilantly. "You're gonna talk after this," he had said before rushing back into the conflict. Sakura had come up from behind him and glared at him harshly, for good reasons.

"After this," he had stated before taking out his sword. Sakura nodded, and they charged in beside Naruto. The trio, the old Team 7, had fought valiantly, but then one by one they began to fall. Sakura took a spike in the chest and Sasuke was stabbed by Madara's **Susanoo**. Naruto was in Obito's grasp, and Sasuke remembered falling next to Sakura, and turning his head to see her breathing, though it was labored. Then that strange sleep had taken him.

'_Am I dead?' _The question rang out against his skull, and he looked around the small room. '_Is this were I await judgment? Or am I already in hell?' _The questions were starting to give him a headache. He clutched his head and leaned the cold stone wall of the cell, if it was a cell; he sat there for what seemed like hours when a bright flash blinded him. During that flash, a dark figure materialized in the center of the room and fell to its knees. After Sasuke blinked the spots from his eyes, he observed the figure apprehensively.

It spoke, "Where am I? Who are you?" Its voice was instantly recognizable, and an image of a cherry blossom appeared in Sasuke's mind.

He hesitantly replied, "S-Sakura?" The figura froze at his voice and turned its head in his direction.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

He wanted to be sarcastic but remembered that he and Sakura weren't on the best of terms. He _had _tried to kill her, after all. "I have honestly no idea. I woke up here a few minutes ago," replied Sasuke sincerely, letting go of his head which had quit hurting.

Sakura crawled to the wall opposite of Sasuke and leaned against. "Where are we," she asked.

"I really don't know though I do have a couple of ideas, though they deal with us being dead."

"Dead? I feel fine except for the fact I'm bone-tired."

"No offense, but what else could we be? A spike pierced your chest and I took a **Susanoo ** in the chest. Both are fatal, even with treatment."

"Well…"

"Here are my idead: either we're in the holding room before we're judged by the Shinigami, or we're in hell, though I'm inclined to believe the first one since you arrived," Sasuke finished his part and waited for Sakura's response.

She was silent for a minute until she said, "You're a hell of a lot more honest now that you're dead, Sasuke." He gave a bark of laughter and smiled slightly in her direction, forgetting she couldn't see more than shapes past her reach.

"I tried to turn over a new leaf, but unfortunately I died. I might as well act like I care about _something_."

Sakura snorted, "I doubt you ever cared about anything," she spat venomously. A hurt look flicked across Sasuke's face, but before he could defend himself, the room started to glow. The glow grew brighter until the two couldn't see anything but white. When it cleared, they were standing in a well-lit, spacious room with a woman of unearthly beauty sitting an armchair. She had warm, motherly cerulean eyes and waist-length black hair and wore a purple kimono tied with a white sash. Her gaze was compassionate and safe, and the duo relaxed slightly, though their honed ninja instincts didn't let them lower their defenses.

"Do not fear, young shinobi. I am Ren, and I am here to take you back to the land of the living," she said, holding out a hand. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"World of the living? So we are dead? And what do you mean take us back? People who die don't magically come back to life," she argued. Sasuke agreed with her; this was too good to be true.

"The Shinigami had decided to let you live; however, you will go back to the day you graduated from the Academy. It is a total reset," replied Ren, still holding out her hand, "Try to change the future."

"What about Naruto? Is he coming back too?" asked Sasuke. Team 7 with memories would impact Konoha greatly.

She, however, replied, "Is the Naruto you speak of here?" The two shook their heads and looked at the ground. "Do you agree to our terms?" asked Ren. Sasuke and Sakura shared their first glance in years, and nodded. Anything to change the grim future. Ren nodded, "Any requests?"

Sakura nodded, "I was extremely weak when I was a Genin. I'm surprised I was a Genin in the first place. To help my team, can I have my current chakra reserves and muscle strength transferred to my thirteen year-old self, Ren-san?"

"It will be done," said Ren. Sasuke then voiced his request.

"Can I have the Sharingan as a Genin? Not a fully matured one, but two tomoe would be nice," asked Sasuke, "I will train my chakra reserves to the level they are now, as long as _both of us _are allowed to keep our knowledge of our jutsu."

Ren smiled as she replied, "Not as eloquent as Sakura-san's but it will be done nonetheless. Is that it?" When no answer came, she rose and touched both on the forehead, sending white ripples moving through their bodies. The two felt a strange, almost _merging _sensation before they lost themselves to a sea of blackness.

**Well? How did I do? Oh, and here's the disclaimer: I don't own anything Naruto. I'm too lazy to go to the top. Reviews are welcome, and check out my other story, _Sealed Power_****_! _It's an OC story, though, if you don't like, ignore me. ^^;  
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	2. Chapter 2

**Sheesh… This story has more views than my other one… a LOT more. Thanks for the reviews YamiHinata, WhatChuuKnowBoutMe, dark shadow400, and crazymel2008. Yay for the new chapter! Oh, yeah: I NO OWN NARUTO!**

**Chapter 2**

The seemingly endless sea of darkness swirled around Sasuke, and the strange feeling of _merging_ came back. '_What the hell?' _A light appeared a distance away, and appeared to grow larger until it engulfed him, bathing him in white light. He closed his eyes, waiting for this terrifying nightmare to be over, and suddenly, it was. He opened his eyes and found himself looking straight into a pair of very familiar cerulean eyes. '_Why does this seem familiar? It's like déjà vu or something…' _As Sasuke was thinking this, an unnamed shinobi leaned back against his desk and knocked Naruto off balance. He turned to apologize but instantly froze at the sight in front of him.

'_BLARGH! NOT THIS AGAIN!' _screamed Sasuke, clutching his throat and gagging to get the taste out of his mouth. Of all the moments to suddenly pop in on, it _had _to be the one of him accidentally kissing Naruto! Once was torture, twice was beyond that. He recovered and surveyed the room covertly. He was in the Academy, the same classroom that they had waited for their first meeting.

Naruto likewise gagged and coughed, but then shivered as he felt KI from inside the room. He turned slowly and found the Sasuke Fan Club looming over him, cracking their knuckles and murderous expressions on their faces. His one thought was, '_KAMI DAMMIT!' _beforebeing beat to a pulp.

Sasuke winced as Naruto was beat by his 'fan club'. More like wannbe-rapists. He searched the roiling mass for pink hair and was relieved to not find any, meaning Sakura wasn't the useless fangirl she once was. He glanced over to where she sat and found her rolling on the ground, laughing mirthfully. '_Why is she… oh yeah,' _he shivered. The beat down stopped when the head of the mob, Ino, called them off, leaving a bruised and bloodied Naruto lying on the ground in a daze.

Ino came to where Sakura was and looked down on her, "Why are you laughing, Billboard? Naruto just took Sasuke's first kiss!" '_And I never thought he was going to be my second one,' _thought Sasuke belatedly. Sakura eventually collected herself, and looked Ino in the eye.

"Believe me, not being a fangirl has its perks. This was funnier than hell, and I was simply reacting the way I normally would," replied Sakura with a knowing look. Ino stared at her in disbelief, and gave a shaky laugh after a few seconds.

"Y-you're kidding, right Billboard?" asked Ino nervously. A tic mark appeared on Sakura's head at her nickname, but she'd ignore it, for now.

"Nope. Let me show you," she said, walking over to Sasuke. A sweatdrop formed on Sasuke's head as she grew closer, '_What is she going to do to me?'_ That question was answered as soon she was in arm's length; "**SHANAROO!**" she cried as she connected a wild right hook to Sasuke's chest, sending him flying into the back wall. He made a crater on the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, miraculously still conscious though dazed. The Fan Club, along with their now-solo leader, gaped at Sakura; she had just broken the number one rule of the Fan Club: hurting their idol. Penalty: Expulsion and possible death. Since Sakura had just sent a guy flying twenty feet, they unanimously and silently decided on expulsion.

Sasuke slowly got up from the floor, still slightly dazed. '_Why the hell did she have to be so strong? Kami, it feels like Gai with the Hidden Gates punching me square in the chest. At least this doubly confirms the fact she's from the future,' _he mused, limping back to his seat. A smirking Sakura sat down next to a stunned Ino, and Iruka walked in.

"Alright, class, here are the Genin team assignments: Team 1…" He continued on until he reached the most unique grouping, "Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. Your sensei is Kakashi Hakate." To Iruka's surprise, Sakura had neither sulked for being placed with Naruto nor celebrated for being teamed with Sasuke; she simply accepted it. '_Maybe she's maturing,' _thought Iruka before reading off, "Team 8: Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuuga. Your sensei is Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9 is still active, so Team 10: Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akamichi, and Ino Yamanaka," There was a cry from Ino and a muttered "troublesome" from Shikamaru at this, and Iruka glared them silent, "Your sensei is Asuma Sarutobi."

He put the paper on his desk and announced to the class, "From this day on, I'm not your sensei anymore. The sensei of your team will be your role model until you become a Chuunin or Jonin. Follow their instructions and advice, and you will achieve greatness," Iruka cleared his throat, "Now, time for the Jonin instructors to get here. You're to wait here until he or she gets here, is that clear?" The fresh batch of Genin nodded, "Alright, goodbye." He shunshinned away.

Sasuke went to go sit with his team, and caught Sakura's eye. He quickly sat on the other side of Naruto, who looked elated to be sitting near his crush. "Sakura-chan! How ya doing?" asked Naruto, grinning his signature foxy grin. Sakura smiled politely back at him, which made the blonde even more ecstatic.

"I'm doing fine. Thanks, Naruto," replied Sakura nicely. She leaned back in her chair and put her feet on the desk, and asked Sasuke in a sweet tone, "Well, Sasuke, how do _you_ feel?"

Sasuke studied her and answered carefully, "Fine, Sakura. My chest hurts a little, but I'm alright."

"Aw, does your chest hurt? I can make it feel _so_ _much better,_" said Sakura, growling out the last three words and cracking her knuckles. Sasuke edged away from the murderous Sakura, trying not to provoke her. '_Why didn't I think to ask to have full power? Oh yeah, that would be kinda suspicious. DAMMIT!'_

"I'll pass on that, but thanks," said Sasuke, lamenting the fact the she could probably kill him if she wanted to. '_Argh, if we continue like this, we're not gonna change a damn thing! I need to get Sakura alone…' _a perverted thought drifted through his head, '_ACK! Not in that way!'_

"Can you give a massage to me, Sakura-chan?" asked the ever-oblivious Naruto, not noticing the implied threat. Sakura gave him a look that said, 'Are you really that dense?' all over it. They had both forgotten how thickheaded the hyperactive knucklehead could be. Before she could answer, however, a group of adult shinobi walked into the room.

Jonin instructors. A beautiful black-haired woman with red eyes stepped up and said, "Team 8, Academy courtyard, five minutes." She disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with a lit cigarette in his mouth called out, "Team 10, Training Ground 20, fifteen minutes." He didn't leave the room immediately; he looked around the room and asked, "Who is Kakashi's bunch?"

Naruto raised his hand and waved it eagerly, "We are, dattebayo!"

"Well, let me tell you something: you're in for a long wait," and with that said, the man walked out the door followed closely by his team.

"What does he mean by that?" wondered Naruto, his face scrunching up in a thinking expression. Sasuke and Sakura shared a look; they knew exactly what he meant.

* * *

**-Three Hours Later-**

"Where the hell is this guy?!" yelled Naruto, fidgeting in his seat. The rest of the Jonin instructors had already picked up their teams, leaving Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura in the classroom. It had been three hours, and Sasuke and Sakura knew that Kakashi was going to be here soon. Naruto, however, was fed up with waiting. He grabbed an eraser from the blackboard and stuck it above the door. "Heh-heh, now that'll teach him not to be late!"

Sasuke knew at this point he was supposed to say something like, "Our sensei is a jonin, an elite ninja. There's no way he would fall for such a childish prank." But he opted to take another route and say, "Good idea, Naruto."

Sakura agreed, "Hell yeah, Naruto, show that bastard!" Naruto eyed Sasuke suspiciously, accepting Sakura's comment.

"Why are you suddenly agreeing with me, teme? You hate me, and you just gave me a compliment."

Sasuke shrugged, "Maybe I'm trying to turn over a new leaf." Sakura snapped her gaze on him, recognizing the words. '_He can really act, I'll give the bastard that,' _she thought maliciously. Sasuke felt her hard gaze, and tried to ignore it, though it was tempting to simply stare back at her. '_Can I ever make it up to her? And where is my mind getting these things?!'_ he mused, trying to resist his inner perv that was sending VERY naughty images to him.

The door opened and a cyclopean man with gravity-defying silver hair stuck his head in the door way, and the eraser fell on top of his head in a puff of dust. "HA! Gotcha!" Naruto fell onto the ground laughing, Sakura giggled, and Sasuke gave a satisfied smirk. He knew what was coming next as Kakashi held his chin in a thoughtful gesture.

"Well, my first impression of you is-" '_You're all a bunch of idiots,' _finished Sasuke silently. The silver-haired Jonin went to on finish his sentence, using the exact same words.

"Rooftop, fifteen minutes," said Kakashi before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The group all glanced at each other and headed up toward the rooftop. Their sensei was waiting for them and gestured for them to make themselves comfortable. "Now that we're here, how about we start with introductions. Names, like, dislikes, and so on" said Kakashi lazily, and he pointed toward Naruto, "You first, blondie."

"Hey wait, what about you?" asked Naruto.

"Me? Well, I'm Kakashi Hakate. My dislikes and likes… I don't feel like telling you. As for my hobbies, that's my business."

'_Kami, I forgot annoying his attitude could be,'_ thought Sasuke, unaware Sakura was having the same thought. With Kakashi finished, Naruto began eagerly.

"Well, my name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I LOVE ramen, especially Ichiraku's if Iruka treats me! I hate the three minutes it takes for the ramen to cook. My hobbies are pulling pranks, gardening, and eating ramen, and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage of all time, dattebayo!"

'_This kid's got ramen on the brain,' _thought Kakashi before he pointed towards Sakura, "You next, pink."

She glared at the Jonin, making him sweat slightly, but said calmly, "My name is Sakura Haruno, and my likes are healing others, training, and people who are sweet. My only dislike is arrogant bastards with a ten-foot stick stuck up their rear." She looked pointedly at Sasuke. "My dream is become a powerful kunoichi like Lady Tsunade."

'_Not a fangirl, huh? Promising.' _Kakashi gestured for Sasuke to speak, "Your turn, emo."

'_I AM NOT EMO! ...Well, I was,' _mused Sasuke before saying, "My name's Sasuke Uchiha. My likes are training and taking walks. My dislikes are loud people and people that won't let other ones explain the situation to them." He glared back at Sakura. "My dream is to rebuild my clan to its prior status." With his introduction done, he leaned back on his hands.

'_Looks like this bunch isn't what I expected. I thought that the girl was going to worship Sasuke, and Sasuke to be a vengeful, arrogant lone wolf. Hmm, this will be interesting,' _thought the silver-haired sensei before he announced, "Alright, I have some duties for you to do tomorrow." The blonde of the group perked up at this.

"Duties? What kind of duties?" questioned Naruto, a hopeful look on his face.

'_Not this again,' _was Sasuke's though before Kakashi answered, "Survival Training."

"WHAT? We already did training in the Academy!" Naruto looked to his teammates for support, but found none. Kakashi chuckled and Naruto demanded, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that 9 out of the 27 in your class will be chosen as Genin," replied Kakashi, waiting for the hilarious expressions to appear on their faces. To his disappointment, Naruto was the only one to react. Sasuke and Sakura simply seemed to know that little piece of information.

"HUH? You mean all that work was for nothing?" shouted Naruto, nearly leaping up from the ground. "Was that Exam for nothing?"

"Oh, that? That was to choose the ones to try out for Genin. Anyway, whether you make Genin will be decided at Training Ground 7 tomorrow. Oh, and skip breakfast; you might puke." Their sensei disappeared in swirl of smoke after he was through, leaving an irritated Naruto with his exasperated team.

"What did he mean by that?" wondered Naruto aloud.

"Whatever. I'm eating my breakfast," said Sasuke, rising to leave.

"But Kakashi-sensei said not to!"

"He was _suggesting _it. I'm eating," countered Sasuke before exiting the rooftop through a door. Naruto turned toward Sakura.

"Are you gonna eat, Sakura-chan?" She nodded. "But-"

"Like Sasuke said, he was suggesting it. Plus, it's better to survive if you have a full stomach, right?" explained Sakura before she got up and walked back into the Academy. Naruto simply sat there deciding whether to eat or not, and eventually chose the former.

* * *

**-The Next Day-**

Team 7 waited for their sensei who was running late as always. Sasuke had been tempted to wait three hours and then show up, but he quickly scratched that out. An hour passed, and then another. Sasuke walked up to Sakura and tried to start a conversation, but was given the cold shoulder. '_Oh, look at how the tables have turned. This is what Sakura went through,' _mused Sasuke before he walked over to fidgety Naruto.

"Hey, do you want to work together on this?" he asked plainly, crossing his arms. Naruto gave him a glance filled with suspicion.

"What's the catch, teme?"

"No catch. You and me working together, dobe." Naruto studied him for minute or two, but nodded his head slowly. "Good, now if only-"

"I heard you two. I'll join," said Sakura, coming up behind them. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief, but quickly regretted it when she shot a venomous look at him. "Don't think I'm doing this for you. I want to become a Genin, and I'll tolerate you for as long you're my teammate."

"Fair enough, I guess," replied Sasuke who felt about an inch tall. '_Damn, I really need to talk to her.'_ The three sat silently or at least as silently Naruto could be, until Kakashi arrived. Naruto jumped up from his spot on the ground and pointed an accusatory finger at Kakashi.

"You're late!" yelled Naruto angrily. Kakashi gave his original eye smile and chuckled. He got an alarm clock from his pack and put it on a stump in the middle of the training field.

"Alright, it's set for noon," he pulled two bells from his pocket. "Your goal is to get these bells from me by noon, and those who can't will be tied to the stump and given no lunch."

"Heh-heh, good thing I ate a big breakfast!" said Naruto, patting his belly. Kakashi narrowed his eye, but continued on.

"You only need one bell and there are only two, so one of you is definitely going to be tied up. The one who does not get a bell will fail and go to the Academy." Naruto froze at this and looked at his teammates who let nothing show. "Any questions?" Silence. "Alright, begin!" To Kakashi's surprise, Sasuke quickly grabbed Naruto and raced off toward the trees with Sakura following closely behind him. '_Well, this might turn out to be interesting,' _he thought.

In the trees, Sasuke let go of Naruto as soon as they were about a hundred feet from the clearing. Naruto cursed as he fell on his head, and scowled up at Sasuke. Sakura quickly shushed him before he could say anything, and they quietly made their way deeper into the forest. Once they felt they could plan safely, the team sat in a rough circle and started to plan.

"Ok, to begin, Naruto-" began Sasuke.

"Hey, wait a minute! What about the two bells? We need to decide who's gonna get them," interrupted Naruto. Sasuke sighed; he was hoping that this wouldn't come up. He was about to volunteer to be the one to 'fail' until Naruto amazed him. "You know, you and Sakura should get the bells. I'll fail for this," said Naruto, staring at his feet. Sasuke's eyes snapped to the blonde, and he privately congratulated him.

'_I admit, he has a lot more courage than me,'_ thought Sasuke as he tried to dissuade Naruto, "What about your dream? If you do this, you might not…" he trailed off, letting the implied meaning hover in the air. Naruto grinned at him, though now it seemed hollow.

"Don't worry about me, teme. I can still be Hokage even if I don't become a Genin, dattebayo!" Sasuke stared at him; was he really serious? Sasuke himself could never be so selfless, and he knew it. '_And look what happened between you and Sakura.' _

"What about this: we decide who get the bells _after _we get them," proposed Sasuke, still trying to change Naruto's mind. Naruto simply looked at him flabbergasted, but then a large genuine grin formed on his face.

"I'll fight you for them, teme!" he challenged, his gloomy attitude clearing up in a second. Sasuke smiled slightly at the blonde, and nodded.

"Alright, it's decided. Now time for strategy…" they planned for about ten minutes until they were satisfied. They rose, and Sasuke turned toward Naruto, "Once we're in battle, _you _are going to be the leader, since you have excellent on-the-spot thinking." The blonde's eyes sparkled, and he thanked Sasuke before racing off. Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who nodded. He felt his spirit lift; it wasn't much, but a nod of approval was good enough for Sasuke, not to mention it promised that he could_ maybe _fix things between them.

* * *

Kakashi stood patiently in the clearing, waiting for his Genin to attack. '_It's twenty minutes till noon and they haven't made a single move. Interesting.' _Well, it was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Three shuriken flew out of the trees to the right of him, and he ducked under them. They stuck with a 'thunk' in a tree and Kakashi turned to face the direction they had come from. Just then, a huge fireball came from the same direction, causing Kakashi to leap before being roasted. '_Fireball Jutsu, probably Uchiha.' _Before he could retaliate, three more shuriken whistled toward him. He threw his own to deflect the incoming projectiles, and landed on the ground just in front of the trees the attacks were coming from.

Sakura burst out from the cover and threw a right hook at Kakashi, who foolishly tried to catch it. It resulted in him tumbling end over end toward the other side of the clearing and slamming into the tree holding the first three shuriken. He tried to rise, but then the shuriken went _poof_ and revealed three Kage Bunshins of Naruto. They fell on top of him, and the clones struggled with Kakashi.

"I got the bells!" shouted one of the clones, triumphantly holding the prize before being punched into smoke by Kakashi. There was now one clone left, and Kakashi easily kicked it into a tree.

"I admit, you nearly-WHAT THE HELL?" shouted Kakashi as he flew into the air. Sasuke had come up behind him and used the ultimate taijutsu, **One Thousand Years of Death. **The user was wearing an amused smirk on his face as he watched his sensei clear the trees and land in a nearby lake, holding his rear and howling all the way.

Kakashi coughed and sputtered as he got out of the lake, and thought evilly, '_Why those brats, to use my own technique against me,' _he glanced at his belt. '_At least they didn't get the bells.' _Said objects disappeared with a _poof_ as soon as he thought that, and Kakashi simply stared at the spot, thinking the same thought for a solid minute, '_WHAT THE HELL?!' _When he finally returned to his senses, he raced off to find the trio.

* * *

Back at the clearing, Sasuke turned to look at his teammates. He had an uncharacteristic grin on his face, and he said, "That was so worth it." Naruto nodded and burst out laughing and fell to the ground where he continued to laugh uproariously. Even Sakura had smile on her face. She held up the bells.

"Gotta say, the plan that Naruto came up with on the fly really helped," admitted Sakura, jingling the bells. Sasuke nodded, but then remembered that they had to decide who would 'fail'. Both he and Sakura knew that their team had passed the test with flying colors, but they couldn't say so. Eventually Naruto stopped laughing, and his expression grew serious.

"Alright, we have the bells," said Naruto, taking them from Sakura. He handed one to Sasuke and one to Sakura, who both refused.

"C'mon, dobe. You deserve to be a Genin, plus you contributed a whole lot to the plan. Not to mention you saved our asses," argued Sasuke while trying to hand back his bell.

"Naruto, all I did for the plan was throw shuriken. You did more work than me," protested Sakura while forcing her bell into Naruto's hand. He tried to convince them otherwise, but to no avail. Both bells were back in his possession.

"Well, well. Being rather selfless are we?" said a voice coming the other side of the clearing. Kakashi stepped out from behind a tree, and crossed his arms. "I admit, I didn't expect you to team up, but I'm pleasantly surprised that you did. But it's not noon yet so," a creepy look appeared on his face, "you are now my prey." The Genin gulped, but before Kakashi could move, Naruto made a handsign and the entire area filled with smoke. When the smoke cleared, there were several Team 7's with a Naruto holding the prized bells. They rushed off in several different directions, leaving a very confused Kakashi in the clearing. He shrugged and pulled out his infamous orange book, and he began to read.

After the alarm clock rang, the trio made their way back to the stump it was on, and met Kakashi there, reading. He looked up lazily and asked, "Well?" The team exchanged glances and Naruto took the bells from his pocket and tossed to Kakashi. He caught them and looked curiously at the Genins.

"We pass. I don't care what you have to say: we pass," stated Sasuke before walking past his sensei to get his lunch. Kakashi nodded.

"Alright. Team 7 passes. Just one thing though…" started Kakashi. Sasuke turned around, wondering what it could be this time, before being jerked into the ground. "**Doton: Double Suicide Decapitation!**" An irate Sasuke was left with his head sticking out of the ground, and Kakashi rose out of the ground before him and gave him an eye smile. "That's for using **Thousand Years of Death**."

"YOU BASTARD! GET ME OUTTA THE GROUND NOW, DAMMIT!" shouted Sasuke, trying to free himself. Kakashi ignored him and turned toward the other two.

"Get your lunches and go. I got something special planned for Sasuke over there," deadpanned Kakashi, though his eye held a mischievous glint. Naruto shivered as he imagined what his sensei had in store for his teammate, and Sakura smirked; she must just sit in a tree and watch the spectacle. They grabbed their lunches and raced in different directions, Naruto heading toward the village and Sakura heading toward a tree with a good view of what was to come.

Kakashi waited until they were out of sight, and then took out a scroll. He unfurled it and reversed summoned a woman with purple hair and browns eyes wearing a trench coat and miniskirt with mesh covering the rest of her. Sakura smirked as she recognized the second-in-command at T&I, Anko Mitarashi. "What the hell, Kakashi? I was in the middle of a juicy interrogation!" complained Anko, frowning at Kakashi, who eye smiled at her.

"Well, my dear Anko, I have another one for you," he replied, jerking a thumb behind him at Sasuke. Anko smiled and pecked the silver-haired on the cheek.

"Thanks, I'll repay you tonight," thanked Anko in a seductive tone which caused Kakashi's nose to bleed underneath his mask. He nodded and shunshinned away. Anko turned toward her victim and gave a creepy smile, "Time to have fun." Soon, Sakura was enjoying herself as Sasuke was being humiliated before her eyes.

* * *

**Well? What do you think of the fight scene? A bit short maybe, but I think it's good for my first one. Anyway, reviews are welcome! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sheesh, views exploded since I posted, and thank you to those who reviewed. Yay for the new chapter! :)(Update: Explain KB training)  
**

**Chapter 3**

The next day, Team 7 met at Training Ground 21, and Sasuke was extremely irritated with Kakashi. He had left him with that sadist of a woman, and now Sasuke was probably scarred for life because of it. He shivered; not even Orochimaru could compare to her in sadism, though he came in at a damn close second.

Their sensei was late, which was to be expected, and now Naruto was getting restless. "Where the hell is sensei? He should've been here at eight, but that was an hour ago!" whined Naruto, starting to fidget. Sasuke sighed. They needed to come up with something to keep them busy while they waited, but he couldn't think of anything.

"We could train while we wait," suggested Sakura, "That would pass the time." Naruto leapt at this, and Sasuke tuned in.

"Really? You would do that, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto eagerly, his eyes sparkling with hope.

She smiled, "Sure, do you want to spar?" Naruto frowned.

"I don't want to hurt you, Sakura-chan," he said concernedly.

"C'mon, Naruto, you scared or something?" teased Sakura, grinning at him. Naruto bristled at the challenge.

"I'm not scared!" he shouted.

"Then bring it!" shouted back Sakura, shifting into a fighting stance. Naruto took a brawler type stance which Sasuke immediately noticed. '_We need to correct his stance, teach him a good fighting style,'_ he thought, running through potential styles that Naruto could utilize.

Sakura smirked at the blonde and taunted, "What? Not gonna fight me? Afraid of a girl?" Naruto growled slightly in his throat and charged Sakura wildly and in pure, all-out offense. He launched a wild uppercut at Sakura who bent back slightly to dodge it, and she retaliated with a light blow to Naruto's gut, which winded him and caused him to hunch over. She then chopped at his neck with her hand, instantly knocking him out. He fell to the ground, and Sakura stood victoriously over him and glanced at Sasuke. "Want some, duck-butt?" she taunted.

'_I swear, why is everyone out to insult me?'_ thought Sasuke as he stepped up and shifted into the first stance of the Fist-Intercepting Style, which relied heavily on the Sharingan, but Sasuke decided that he wouldn't use here, not in a small spar. Sakura smirked as he took the stance.

"Too bad I can't bait you," she said before charging him and swinging an earthshattering overhead fist at him. He dodged it easily by leaping into the air and her fist collided with the ground, creating a massive crater. '_Shit, one punch and I'm done.' _He landed on the lip of the crater, and took an advanced stance with a few improvisations due to Sakura's super strength; it was now meant to deflect any taijutsu used by the enemy. She grinned and charged again, throwing senbon along the way, making Sasuke divert his attention away from her to dodge the needles. In that crucial second, she reached him and punched him square in the chest, sending him flying across the training grounds. He skidded to a halt about fifty feet away, and laid there for a moment, checking for any broken ribs or internal damage. Miraculously, there was none, and he rose shakily. He glared at her and activated his Sharingan which had two tomoe, as Ren had promised.

"Heh-heh, gotta use the Sharingan now?" said Sakura before rushing him, getting ready to throw a punch. He saw every movement, and positioned his hands to deflect the incoming attack. Sakura got within arm's length and feinted with a punch and instead lashed out with a kick. Sasuke sensed the feint and caught her ankle and moved with the kick, narrowly avoiding the attack. He countered with a right-handed jab to her gut and followed it up with a left kick at her torso, and Sakura caught the jab but got to feel Sasuke's foot connect, making her drop her guard for a split second. He quickly delivered a few light punches to her gut in that window and jumped backwards to avoid any counterattack.

He winced when he saw Sakura hunching over and clutching her stomach, and walked near her, "You okay?" Sakura coughed and Sasuke stood beside her, trying to see her face when suddenly she looked and grinned at him and sent a powerful right hook into his ribs, cracking a few. He clutched his chest and fell to the ground. Sakura stood over him, and said, "Deception is a ninja's best weapon, remember that." She walked over to Naruto, leaving Sasuke on the ground, and healed him. The blonde woke up slowly, and he sat up and shook his head.

"What happened?" he mumbled, rubbing his sore neck, having no clue where he got it. "All I remember was talking to Sakura-chan, and then…" He trailed off, the memories starting to come in. "Wait, Sakura-chan, you beat me?" She nodded. "WOW! I didn't know you were that good!" She smiled at the compliment and went to Sasuke.

"Symptoms?" she questions, her hands starting to glow with medical chakra.

Sasuke forced out the words painfully, "It hurts to breath." She nodded.

"Cracked ribs, sounds like," she said, and she gently applied her hands to his chest. A warm feeling came over Sasuke, followed by the pain in his chest stopping. Her hands ceased to glow, and she pulled them back, to Sasuke's slight disappointment. "There." He sat up, and eventually stood with Sakura's help.

Naruto looked from Sasuke to Sakura and back again. "Wait, did you beat him too?" he asked. Sakura grinned and nodded, and Naruto simply stared at her. "Kami, when did you get so powerful, Sakura-chan?"

She giggled and lied, "I've been training. I just didn't make it obvious." Naruto 'oh'ed and looked over at Sasuke, who had forgotten to deactivate his Sharingan.

"Hey, teme, what's wrong with your eyes?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow, but then remembered he hadn't turned off the Sharingan. He turned away from Naruto and quickly did so.

"Nothing, dobe," replied Sasuke, facing him again. Naruto saw that the strange eyes that Sasuke had had were gone; however, he persisted.

"No, it wasn't nothing. I've seen that weird shape before, except it had three tomoes instead of two. Where was it... Oh yeah! The Uchiha compound! I've passed by there a few times and I saw that shape on wall of one of the houses," said Naruto, frowning in concentration.

Sasuke sighed. Naruto was bound to find out sooner or later, especially when they went on the Wave mission. "It's called the Sharingan. It allows me to copy movement and jutsu and predict an opponent's next move. It's unique to the Uchiha clan. It's also called a Kekkei Genkai," explained Sasuke.

"Kekkei Genkai? OK, whatever you say, teme. Though, it sounds cool," replied Naruto before asking, "Hey, Sasuke, wanna fight?" Sakura lightly rapped the blonde on the head.

"He can't for an hour because I cracked a couple of his ribs," she said, and then she smiled innocently, "But I'll take up the offer."

"OH HELL NO!" exclaimed Naruto before racing off, leaving an amused Sasuke and an annoyed Sakura behind.

"Well, well. Looks like you scared him off," came Kakashi's voice from behind them. The two turned to find the cyclopean man a few feet away, his visible eye focused on an orange book in front of him. They instantly recognized it as 'Make-Out Paradise' and Sakura was sorely tempted to rip the book into tiny shreds; however, she controlled it. "You two try to find him and bring him back now," ordered Kakashi in a lazy tone, making a shooing gesture and still focused on the book. Sakura then gave up trying to resist the urge, and snatched the book from his hands and ripped in two. She let it flutter to the ground pitifully.

Kakashi simply stared down at the remains of the book, and slowly lifted his head. Hate filled his eye, and Sasuke immediately thought, '_Shit,' _before being blasted with an immense amount of Killer Intent. "YOU HAVE KILLED BOOKIE!" bellowed Kakashi, and he charged the two. Sasuke activated the Sharingan and Sakura cracked her knuckles. Before he could reach them however, several blonde blurs tackled the silver-haired Jonin.

"Sensei! Calm down!" shouted Naruto as he hopped down from a tree. Sasuke had never been so glad to see the knucklehead; he had probably just saved their asses for the second time in a week. Kakashi threw the clones off of him and stood back up.

"CALM DOWN?! THESE TWO-" started Kakashi before being cut off by Naruto.

"-did nothing," finished Naruto, pulling out a copy of 'Make-Out Paradise', the exact one that Kakashi had been holding. He stared at it for all full minute before snatching it away.

"How?" he asked, incredulous.

Naruto grinned, "I used the same strategy as yesterday: Kage Bunshins, Henge, and Kawarimi. I saw Sakura-chan about to tear your book when I used that trick."

Kakashi nodded, still incredulous but pleasantly surprised by the quick thinking of the blonde. Sasuke was also surprised but less so; he had known that Naruto had superb reflexive thinking, even better than himself, and that was the reason he had appointed Naruto as field commander yesterday.

"Very good, Naruto. Now I won't have to kill these two," complimented Kakashi, putting the book away before Sakura could get it back. "Now, about yesterday. I want to know the strategy you used. It has something to do with whatever Naruto mentioned, but I want it in detail."

Sasuke nodded, and began to explain, "The shuriken that were first thrown at you were henged Kage Bunshin, and the fireball after that was meant to divert your attention from them. The other three shuriken were also meant as a distraction."

Sakura stepped in, "And they were to make you think that the first three were nothing special. When you landed where the attacks were coming from, I was to try to push you back to the henged Bunshin. When you tried to catch my punch, you made my job a lot easier."

Sakura gestured for Naruto to finish, "Whenever you got near the Bunshins, they were supposed to hold you back and get the bells. They did get the bells, but I had realized that they alone couldn't get you, so I sent Sasuke to sneak up on you and I quickly henged a Bunshin into the bells and Kawarimied them for the real thing. Sasuke using that weird technique was on his part."

Kakashi nodded again. These Genin were smart. "Simple, yet effective. Who organized the strategy?" They pointed at Sasuke. "Who was field commander?" To his surprise, they pointed to Naruto, who grinned.

"Yup, Sasuke-teme made me the leader, which kinda surprised me at first, but he said something like me having better on-the-spot thinking than he does," he said, rubbing the back of his head, a sheepish tic that Sasuke and Sakura had seen many times in the future.

"An Uchiha saying that someone is better than him? It's a miracle," deadpanned Kakashi, annoying Sasuke.

"I told him the truth, and you just saw an example of it, Kakashi," said Sasuke, crossing his arms.

"Kidding, kidding. Anyway, Naruto, can you give us a demonstration of your little trick?" asked Kakashi. Naruto obliged; he made a single Kage Bunshin and henged it into a mask much like his sensei's. Kakashi eyed it suspiciously, "What are you-" Before he could finish, Naruto switched the two and dispelled the clone, revealing Kakashi's face.

The result was Anko suddenly appearing beside the unmasked Kakashi and saying in a sultry, seductive voice, "I felt a disturbance… in SEXINESS!" She glomped him and positively tried to rape the poor man with Team 7 watching in horror. Then the earth started to rumble; the trio looked at each other.

"STAMPEDE!" they shouted before leaping into nearby trees. A cloud of dust appeared in the distance, and as it got closer, it revealed a large group of extremely rabid women.

"KAKASHI-KUN!" The Kakashi Fan Club charged the couple lying on the ground. Anko looked up from a now bare-chested Kakashi. She grinned devilishly at Kakashi, "Let's finish this at home," and they vanished in a puff of smoke. The horny herd of women was not to be deterred, however. They picked the scent of their prey and stampeded in that direction.

In the trees, all three sweat dropped at the scene. Sasuke thought, '_Kami, I'm glad I'm not him. I just couldn't handle it.' _The image of Anko and Kakashi floated in front of his eyes, '_OK, maybe it's not all bad… Ah, who knows?' _Naruto was the first to break the silence with a giant bellow of laughter. He fell out of the tree and hit the ground, holding his sides. Sasuke grinned slightly, and Sakura giggled.

"I admit, dobe, that was good," said Sasuke as he jumped down from the tree. Sakura did so as well, and Naruto sat up and beamed at the two.

"Thanks, teme. I'm proud of myself too," thanked Naruto as he stood. He looked around, "Aw, man, what are we gonna do now?" The trio was now without a sensei because of Naruto's prank, but Sakura saw an opportunity to enhance his training.

"Hey Naruto, can you make a clone?" she asked, wanting to demonstrate a certain feature of the jutsu. He looked at her curiously and created one clone. She immediately punched as hard as she could, sending the clone flying in the direction of the village.

"Hey! What was-" started Naruto before his face turned extremely red and his nose bled slightly. Sakura wondered why he was doing that, and she waited for him to tell, but he didn't. "W-well, that was awkward," said Naruto, the blush receding and he wiped the blood from his nose.

"What, dobe?" asked Sasuke, puzzled by the blonde's behavior.

"N-nothing, teme," stuttered Naruto, and he shook his head. "That was weird. Whenever the clone dispelled, it was as if I gained its memories…I could use to spy but what else?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, a clone dispels and the memories of what it's doing comes to me... Gahh, it means SOMETHING, but I can't think of it!"

Sakura butt in. She was trying to reveal Kage Bunshin training without giving herself away, though with Naruto she could probably tell him she was from the future and he wouldn't get it, though this Naruto was a bit...different. "So, let's say a clone throws a shuriken and it hits the center of a target, and then it dispels, you would get the memory of how it aimed, right?"

Naruto nodded. For an experiment, he created another clone. "Erm, let me think, could you go throw each of these kunai at that tree?" He handed the clone a few kunai and pointed to a tree twenty feet away. The bunshin saluted happily, and began to throw each kunai one by one at the tree. Two missed, and the third and final hit dead center. The clone whooped and dispelled, the memories coming in and making Naruto grin. He stood where the clone had, and muttered, "OK, he had the kunai like this," he raised it at an angle, "and he threw it like this!" He flung the kunai, and it sailed into roughly the same spot, an inch or two off. "Hmm, I could use for training with weapons... but what else?" An idea suddenly went off his head. He turned toward Sakura. "  
Sakura-chan, could you do something for me?"

She hesitated. "Sure," she answered uneasily, not sure if this was a prank. Naruto grinned.

"It's not a prank," he assured her, seemingly reading her thoughts. He made another clone and turned his back. "Try to hit that clone." Sakura frowned, but complied with a sideways kick that the clone dodged by leaping. She, however, caught the clone with a couple of shuriken in midair. Naruto winced as the clone dispelled, but it proved another use he had theorized. "So it can be used for taijutsu training, but I have to be there to replace the bunshins. That's good, my form needs work," he turned toward Sasuke, "Have anything in that Uchiha library of yours that focuses on speed and the use of the hands?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, there should be. In fact, I think I know the name of one: the Mantis style."

"Can you bring it tomorrow or something?"

"Sure." Naruto nodded, and held his chin in a thinking gesture. Throwing and Tai were covered; what else? Ah, he would think of that later.

"OK, I might create ten or so clones for weapon training. After that, wanna go eat?"

They nodded; it was getting near lunchtime anyway. Naruto made the clone handsign, and ten bunshins popped into existence. Naruto ordered them to train with ninja weapons, and with the clones working, they walked back toward the village, with Naruto joking all the while. The trio got into the more populated part of the village, and turned a corner. "Hey, where should we go eat?" asked Sakura, turning her head left and right to find a café. She peered down the street and saw her favorite dumpling shop, "Hey, let's eat there!" She lead the way to the shop, and was about to enter when the door was slammed in her face. She furrowed her eyebrows. This had never happened before. She turned toward her team to apologize, but was cut off by Naruto.

"It's alright, we can go Ichiraku's! Their ramen is the best!" said Naruto eagerly, though now there was a very slight hollowness to it. So slight in fact, it was as if he had practice hiding it. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other; they both knew Naruto's secret, but had never really known how it had affected him.

"Sure, sounds good," agreed Sakura, and the team went off to the ramen stand. Along the way, Sakura and Sasuke could hear doors slamming as they neared. Every eating establishment they passed was either closed or locked down, as if they feared Naruto. '_This is ridiculous. He's the jailer, not the one in the jail! Kami, some people are denser than Naruto,' _thought Sasuke as they turned a corner and saw the Ichiraku Ramen Stand.

Naruto grinned, "There it is!" He ran and ducked under the flaps, and the other two followed him. Inside, they were greeted by an old man and his daughter.

"Hey, Naruto! How's our favorite customer?" greeted the old man jollily, smiling warmly at the boy.

"Great! Thanks, Teuchi-jii," replied the blonde, taking a seat. Sasuke and Sakura took theirs on either side of him.

"What's your order now, Naruto-kun?" asked a pretty brown-haired girl, the daughter.

"Miso ramen, Ayame-chan," replied Naruto, grinning broadly. His other teammates noticed how relaxed he acted here; he felt safe here, obviously. '_Something's off. It wasn't like this originally…Wait, did we get sent to different timeline or something?'_ mused Sakura, ordering vegetable ramen. Sasuke also ordered miso ramen, and they ate in silence, not all of it comfortable. Naruto finished his fourth bowl of ramen and leapt from his seat. "Seeya! Gotta go train with my clones!" he said, leaving the stand and his teammates. They finished a few minutes later and left the stand.

A block from the stand, Sasuke began, "Sakura, we need to talk." She turned and gave him a cold stare.

"What is it?"

"You punched that clone intentionally, didn't you?" She nodded. "I guess during my defection from Konoha, Naruto discovered this type of training?"

"Less of a defection than complete abandonment."

Sasuke sighed. "I can see why you hate me: I traded your love for power. If our roles were reversed, I'd probably be angry too."

"I wouldn't do such a thing. I'm not like you. And don't even say I ever loved you," she spat.

"Look I'm sorry-"

"Sorry doesn't come close to making this up."

"Look, Sakura, we need to put our differences aside and work together to change the future!"

"Set aside differences? Could you have done that with your brother when you were younger? I don't think so. And, besides, the future was changed when we got here." Sasuke winced as she brought up his brother, but his curiousity piqued at the last part.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you even noticed that this Naruto acts different from our own?" He nodded. "That was without our changing. This timeline or whatever was already different than ours, but not too much so. Makes me wonder what else is different." Sasuke was impressed by her analysis; he was really lagging in his team.

"Maybe we can change this one for the better," said Sasuke, shrugging his shoulders. Sakura continued to glare at him, and he eventually sighed again. "Maybe I can't ever make up past mistakes, but can we be professional partners for now?" She eyed him, trying to detect any potential duplicity in his words. She found none.

"Alright, partners. For now. If you pissed me off or run away again, you will be hunted down and tortured very, _very _slowly," threatened Sakura, giving off a small amount of KI to get her point across. Sasuke held out his hand, and they shook.

"Ok, we need to talk about how to change the future. You already introduced Naruto to that Kage Bunshin training, and I can see that going far. I'm gonna get that Mantis scroll today and give it to him tomorrow. That should do for now along with weapon training. With Kakashi training us, he should gain in power quickly. Here's my question: What about us?" spoke Sasuke, crossing his arms.

"First of all, I'm happy where I am. Second of all, you don't need to be powerful."

"I swear to Kami, I'm not going to leave Konoha this time around! I've told you that ten times already! But back to my question. I need to train to get to my original level."

"To hell you do," growled Sakura.

"I'm going to, even if you don't like it or not. I'll be dead weight if you don't. You need to train as well. Have you started on elemental training yet?" asked Sasuke, an idea coming to him. She shook her head. "There, you can start training at that."

"Why? Like I said a minute ago, I'm happy where I am."

"Your fighting style is predictable if someone is able to survive the ordeal. All you have is your strength and medical ninjutsu, and adding elemental attacks to your arsenal would make your style a little unpredictable," explained Sasuke, leaning against the wall of a building. Sakura nodded, and muttered her grudging agreement.

"When are we going to find out my chakra nature?" questioned Sakura, still scowling at the Uchiha.

"I'll find some chakra paper today, and I'll bring it tomorrow, hopefully with Kakashi back," replied Sasuke, standing straight and walking away.

Sakura caught him by the shoulder in a fierce grip. "Where are you going?" she inquired coldly.

"To the shinobi weapon shop," answered Sasuke, shaking off her hand and continuing to walk. She didn't stop him, and eventually Sasuke found himself in front of the best supplier of shinobi tool in Konoha. He entered and saw the middle-aged owner, Ken Tetsu, waiting at the counter. He noticed Sasuke and waved.

"Ah, looks like the noble Uchiha blesses us with his presence," joked Ken, making Sasuke roll his eyes.

"Hello to you too, Tetsu-san," replied Sasuke, "Do you have any chakra paper?"

"Of course. Wait here, it's in the back," said Tetsu, turning and going into the storage room behind the counter. Sasuke sighed again and surveyed the room. Every wall was covered by some sort of weapon, from the smallest senbon to the largest katana. One blade in a display case caught his attention, and he walked over to it. It looked to be a katana with a three-foot long blade, and the metal seemed to have a slight blue hue to it. The grip and guard of the blade were simple, but Sasuke could see the workmanship put into the blade. It was a beautiful representation of certain death.

"Like it, don't you?" Sasuke whirled around to find Ken behind him. He hadn't even heard the man. Once he relaxed, Sasuke nodded.

"It's a fine piece of craftsmanship," agreed Sasuke, turning back to admire the sword. Ken also walked to stand beside Sasuke, and they both studied it. After a minute, Sasuke asked, "Is it for sale?" Ken opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the opening of the door, admitting a girl with her brown hair in buns.

"Tou-san! How ya doing?" she asked, smiling at the man. Sasuke was mildly surprised by the shop owner having a daughter, but he paid her no mind.

"Nothing, Tenten-chan, just trying to sell Raijin," replied Ken, causing Tenten to freeze.

"You're selling Raijin?" she parroted incredulously, gaping at her father. Ken chuckled and nodded. She glanced at Sasuke. "Hey, kid, do you even know what Raijin is?"

"First of all, my name's Sasuke, and this katana is the most beautiful of kind that I've ever seen," replied Sasuke, annoyed.

Ken stepped in before his daughter could berate the boy, "Raijin here was crafted by myself, and it has been a ten-year project for me. It was crafted with chakra-conducting metal, and during the process I would channel some lightning chakra into it, giving it that bluish color and allowing it to conduct lightning chakra easily. It can cut through almost anything while charged with chakra, and is deadly in the right hands." He eyed Sasuke. "I'll let you have it if you can prove yourself."

"How?" asked Sasuke.

"By using it to its full extent," replied Ken, taking off the display case and grabbing the sword. "Let's go out back." The three walked out the door at the back of the store which led to a practice field. Ken tossed Raijin to Sasuke, and said, "First, channel chakra into it." Sasuke nodded and slowly the blade lit up with a soft blue glow. Ken nodded, "Change it to lightning chakra." A crackling could be heard as tongues of lightning whipped off the blade, light flickering everywhere. Sasuke could feel the drain, but he kept going. Ken arched his eyebrows, but ordered, "Shoot the lightning at a nearby dummy, then rush to slash it." '_Kami, this takes control and massive reserves,' _thought Sasuke, panting now. He slowly raised the sword to torso level with a dummy ten feet away, and focused his shot, and then imagined releasing it.

The shot went off instantly, blurring to its target and incinerating it. The drop in Sasuke's reserves was immediate; he fell to his knees, panting. He, however, kept lightning surging through the blade as he stood and rushed a dummy to his right. He slashed at it, cleaving the dummy in two pieces. The edges of the cut were burnt, showing that the blade had been extremely hot.

He heard slow clapping and turned his head to see Ken the source of it. "I'm impressed, Sasuke-san. There are few ninjas who could've done that, and they're all from Kumo. Alright, a deal's a deal. You get to keep Raijin." Sasuke nodded his thanks, and stood with trembling legs. "I'm surprised you're still conscious. You should've been completely drained of chakra by that. You're more powerful than you let on, Sasuke-san," commented Ken, and the three went back into the store, Sasuke still holding Raijin.

Ken rummaged under the counter in the front and pulled out a white sheath with a strap. "Here," he said and he tossed to Sasuke who fastened the strap over his shoulder and sheathed Raijin. Ken also held out five square sheets of paper to him. "The chakra paper you wanted. That's 200 ryo."

Sasuke paid the amount and bowed, "Arigato, Tetsu-san." The man chuckled and waved it off. Sasuke exited the store, and was immediately confronted by Naruto.

"Teme! C'mon, you've been taking-" he stopped and gaped at the sword on Sasuke's back, "Wow, where'd you get the sword?"

"Here. I just got it. But I'm not in the mood for training. I'm out of chakra as it is, and I think I might go home or something," replied Sasuke as he turned away from the blonde.

"What, you scared of me or something?" teased Naruto. Sasuke glared over his shoulder at him, but continued to walk.

"No, it's just that I'm nearly out. Anymore and I'll be out for the week," explained Sasuke, disappearing around a corner. Naruto started after him, but just shrugged. He had training to get to.

**Omake- What Happened to Naruto's Clone**

"Hey Naruto, can you make a clone?" Sakura asked, wanting to demonstrate a certain feature of the jutsu. Naruto looked at her curiously and created one clone. She immediately punched as hard as she could, sending the clone flying in the direction of the village.

"AHHHHHH!" screamed the clone as it went flying. It closed its eyes and waited for the impact of the hard ground; instead, it slammed into something and fell to the ground along with it. Still not opening its eyes, the clone felt its face in something amazingly soft, and snuggled into it. It smelled faintly of lavender. '_This is really nice,' _was the clone's last thought before being picked bodily up off the ground. The clone opened its eyes to see a furious Kurenai staring at him. '_HUH?'_

"Ack! Lemme go!" said the clone as it struggled in her iron grip. "I didn't do anything!" It looked around for support and saw a laughing Kiba along with Shino whose eyebrow was twitching. Hinata was on the ground from fainting and she was extremely red.

"Didn't do anything? YOU GROPED ONE OF MY STUDENTS!" roared Kurenai. The clone quickly realized what had happened, and tried to apologize, but was quickly stabbed by a kunai-wielding Kurenai.

Back at the training field: "Hey! What was-" started Naruto before his face turned extremely red and his nose bled slightly. Sakura wondered why he was doing that, and she waited for Naruto to tell, but he didn't. "W-well, that was awkward," said Naruto, the blush receding and he wiped the blood from his nose.

"What, dobe?" asked Sasuke, puzzled by the blonde's behavior.

"N-nothing, teme."

**Hmm, maybe not as good as the last chapter, but it's something. Anyway the poll's going to be up for another three days, and during those three days I'll be taking a break from writing, or at least from this story. Here's the poll again, along with votes so far. (Update question: Does anyone want a different Raijin challenge? NOT A POLL)  
**

**What chakra nature should Sakura have?**

**Earth-1**

**Water-6**

**Fire-0**

**Lightning-4**

**Wind-1**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the kinda late update, compared to my other the poll is down, is the winner is…..WATER! With 7 votes out of 16. Alright, Yay for the new Chapter! Oh, yeah, I've started a new story. Check it out if you want. ^^ (Bleep) YEAH! GOT IT!  
**

**Chapter 4**

"Cherry, you in position?"

"Hai, sensei."

"Alright, approach the target _slowly _this time, Fishcake. Don't make it run."

"I was trying to take it by surprise!"

"Dobe, shut up and catch the damn thing."

"SHUT UP, TEME!"

"Great, it's running! Nice work you three," a low shadow burst from behind a tree, racing toward a clearing in the forest. Three more shadows rushed to catch the leading figure. One of the pursuers ran ahead and pounced on the target.

"Got it!" yelled Naruto, clutching a squirming cat that then turned and started to maul the poor blonde. "ARGH! GET THIS DAMN THING OFF OF ME!" he yelped, holding the cat at arm's length. Sasuke and Sakura joined the blonde, who had cuts all over his face.

"Can't be that bad, dobe," commented Sasuke, smirking slightly.

Naruto glared at him, and promptly threw the demonic cat at the Uchiha. He instinctively caught it and was introduced painfully to the cat's claws. "AH! GET THIS *CENSORED* *CENSORED* OFF OF ME!" shouted Sasuke, cursing his luck and trying to strangle the cat, to hell with the mission. Naruto and Sakura laughed as the two struggled, but Sakura eventually decided to help. She took the cat in her arms, immediately calming it.

"Now, now, Sasuke, can't choke the object of the mission," she reprimanded lightly, stroking the cat's fur. He glared at her, but sighed mentally. '_Kami, I hate D-ranks. This one in particular too,' _thought Sasuke as Team 7, along with their sensei, who had stayed behind in the chase, walked to Mission Report. Inside, the owner of the cat, Madam Shijimi, snatch the cat from Sakura's arms and started to crush it against her chest.

"Oh, Tora! Never leave Mommy again!" she said, planting several kisses on the poor cat's head. Sasuke glared at the cat, '_You deserve that.'_ Tora seemed to hear his thoughts and leaped from his owner's arms, meaning to give Sasuke an early end. He nearly succeeded too, if Shijimi hadn't of pulled the devilspawn off. "Now, Tora, you can't be mean to Mr. Uchiha. Please apologize," she said, holding the cat in front of Sasuke's face. The only apology he got was another scratch to his face.

Once Sasuke had been held back, Kakashi walked over to the Hokage. "Mission completed, Hokage-sama. Now, let my team get back to training," he reported. The old man nodded.

"Good work, here's the payment," replied the Hokage, tossing a stack of ryo to the Jonin. Kakashi caught and pocketed it. His salary was dismal at best, and this would help it a little bit. He would share the payment with his team whenever they were assigned a C-rank or something.

"Training? Alright! I've had my clones at the shinobi library all morning. Let me do something right quick," said Naruto, making a handsign. At the library, twenty copies of the blonde went out one at a time; he had learned that dispelling the clones all at once gave him a massive headache. Sasuke looked at him curiously.

"Why do you have your clones at the library of all places?" he asked. Naruto was famous for his energy, him sitting down and reading a book of all things just didn't agree to that. The blonde grinned.

"I found something called fuinjutsu a few days ago. It's really cool! Right now I can make a storage seal and a few other things, want me to show you?" Sasuke nodded. "Alright, can I see your sword?" Sasuke pulled Raijin from his shoulder sheath slowly and handed it to Naruto, who pulled out a sheet of paper with a seal drawn on it. The blonde concentrated chakra on the seal and touched it with the blade. Raijin disappeared in a puff of smoke, startling Sasuke.

"What-"

"Don't worry, teme," said Naruto, focusing his chakra again. Raijin reappeared in his hand, and the blonde handed it back to Sasuke. "Cool, isn't it?" Sasuke nodded, impressed. He wasn't the only one; Kakashi was surprised that Naruto had chosen to pick fuinjutsu, of all things. '_He growing more and more like sensei,' _he thought. Sasuke looked at the sword.

"Dobe, do you think you could make a seal on a piece of clothing?" he asked. Naruto thought a bit, and nodded.

"Sure. It's the same as on paper. Why?" he asked.

"I have gloves at home, and I was wondering if a storage seal could keep an element of surprise for enemies since they can't see Raijin. I could also unseal it faster that way," replied Sasuke, thinking about the implications of the seal. Sakura also voiced an idea.

"Naruto, could you also make a couple of storage seals for me? For senbon and such, that is," she asked. Naruto grinned at them both, happy that he was an integral part of the team.

"No problem guys, but let's go to training first," said the blonde, his hands behind his head in a casual manner. The other two nodded, and Team 7 walked out of Mission Report.

At the training grounds, Naruto made several dozen clones and separated them into groups, one for Mantis style taijutsu, given to him by Sasuke a few weeks ago, one for weapon throwing, and another for whatever Kakashi had planned. The original was with the latter group, eagerly awaiting his sensei's orders.

The first time Kakashi had seen Naruto train using clones, he was stunned and impressed. The clones would really help the blonde get to his teammates' level. His progress had sped up considerably; his aim was on par with Sasuke's and he was on the advanced form of the Mantis taijutsu. Now was the time to introduce something else. "Alright, today you're going to learn to climb trees," began Kakashi, but Naruto interrupted him.

"Sensei, we already know how to climb trees!" he argued, and his clones chorused their agreement. Kakashi sighed; a demonstration was needed. He turned toward a tree and slowly walked toward it, eventually reaching the trunk. He placed a foot on the bark, and then another foot. Slowly, he walked up the tree, parallel with the ground. He reached a branch and hung upside down; he looked at his Genin.

"This is what I meant, Naruto," he said, his hair now somehow pointing up toward the sky, retaining its famed gravity-defying feature. The Genins sweat dropped at his hair, but Naruto was in awe of the feat Kakashi had pulled off. "Now, I expect Sakura to pull this off first, then Sasuke, then you, Naruto," said Kakashi.

"You mean like this, Kakashi?" asked two voices on either side of him. The Jonin jumped and lost his footing on the branch, and promptly hit his head. He looked up and saw Sasuke and Sakura hanging by their feet from the branch and grinning, amused. He glared at them, and Naruto envied the two for mastering the technique so fast.

"Dammit! Why does teme have to be better than me at everything?" demanded Naruto, crossing his arms. Sasuke dropped down in front of Naruto, and cocked his head at the blonde.

"I'm not better than you in several categories, Naruto. You have higher chakra reserves, better quick thinking, and higher stamina. With work, you could surpass me," countered Sasuke, making Naruto arch his eyebrows. Kakashi couldn't resist an opportunity to poke fun at the Uchiha.

"There's that miraculous event again: an Uchiha saying that someone is better than him," he teased with an eyesmile. Sasuke whipped his head around and scowled at the man. His hand started to creep toward Raijin. Kakashi made an appeasing gesture, and the hand went down.

"Thanks, teme," said Naruto, grinning at the Uchiha's complement. Sasuke shrugged, and the blonde turned toward his clones. "Alright! Each of you take a tree. We're gonna get this down tonight!"

"Hai, boss!" saluted the clones, and they each began to tree climb, some falling and dispelling but being recreated by the original. Naruto grinned at his teammates, and joined in the exercise. Kakashi shook his head. He turned toward the two remaining Genins.

"Well, that was all I had planned today. You have the day off," he said, walking away.

"Kakashi, wait. We may need your help in something," called Sasuke. He wanted to find out Sakura's chakra nature, but he hadn't found any time to since they had been training nonstop from the time he had bought the special paper. Sasuke hoped her chakra nature was fire or lightning since then he could teach her one-on-one, but he would never know if she never tested it.

"What do you need help with?" asked Kakashi, stopping but not walking back.

"Elemental training," answered Sasuke. He sensed a puzzled frown under the mask of the Jonin, and he explained by lying a bit, "We saw the subject in the shinobi library, and we were wondering if we could start on it since Sakura and I are ahead of Naruto. I know a little bit about affinities, and the chakra paper test. Mine's a tie between fire and lightning. Sakura doesn't know, though."

"First of all, elemental training is only for Chuunins and Jonins. The chakra strain could kill Genins. Second of all, Naruto isn't going to be behind much longer due to clone training. And third of all, how do you even know about the chakra paper test? It's not in any books to my knowledge. The paper isn't hard to get, but I'm surprised you know of that use," said Kakashi, crossing his arms in an uninviting manner.

Sasuke shrugged, "My brother showed it to me before he murdered the clan. He was a bastard, but he was a smart bastard." Sasuke, of course, knew why his brother killed his fellow clan members; it was an order from the village to prevent a civil war, and Itachi had been a true patriot to place his village in front of his clan. Though it still irked Sasuke, he saw the reason, and would respect his brother's wish to protect the village. He smiled, '_Can't wait to see nii-san now. That'll be interesting.'_

Kakashi had tensed at the word 'brother', but he saw that Sasuke harbored no intention to avenge his clan. He relaxed, and saw Sasuke smile. '_I swear all the reports are wrong about this guy. Yeah, he's a bit stoic, but he's not arrogant, more like confident. Hmmm, interesting,'_ mused Kakashi, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He returned his focus to the matter at hand. '_Elemental training, huh? I know Sasuke can use __**Grand Fireball**__, but I never knew that he had learned about affinities. Hm, this is usually restricted to Genin, but I might make an exception since this group seems to have potential as the next Sannins.'_

"Alright, I'll train you. First, though, Sakura, you need to see what your affinity is," replied Kakashi, "Unfortunately, I don't have any chakra paper, so-"

"Don't worry, Kakashi. I have some," interrupted Sasuke, pulling out small squares of paper out of his back pocket. He handed them to Sakura. She took them without saying a word, which was an improvement. She had grown less cold toward him during the last several days, but he could tell that she did nowhere near trust him yet. He sighed inwardly; that was to be expected.

Sakura pinched the paper between two fingers, and focused chakra into the paper. A moment passed, and the paper then turned soggy. The three were silent for a few seconds, and Kakashi was the first to recover. "Well, water, that's it. That's EXTREMELY rare here in the Land of Fire. I'm one of the few here that can teach you. Now, what do you know about water and its uses?" Sakura looked blank. "OK, not much. Let's see what I remember… Kami, when was the last time I used a Suiton technique? Uh… oh yeah! Water can be shaped into anything, and it damages by the sheer weight and concussive force behind it. I know you somehow have super strength; I'm not gonna ask how. You could extend your reach or shape the water in an axe or hammer. Your imagination is the limiting factor here with Suiton."

Sakura quickly saw the in-battle uses that her affinity could have, and she asked, "So what's the first step to control water chakra?" Kakashi continued to rub his chin, and for minute he didn't reply.

He eventually answered, "Well, I could suggest you find a source of water and try to draw up a bubble or something. A bubble the size of your head should do, and then try to make it float in the air. Once you've mastered that, which should be soon due to your chakra control, come back to me." Sakura nodded, and shunshinned away. Kakashi looked at the smoke left behind belatedly, and wondered aloud, "How the hell do you two know so much? Both of you are at _least_ Chuunin-level, and Naruto is quickly gaining." He sighed.

"Well, Sakura and I are both geniuses of our generation. It's to be expected. Naruto has unflappable determination, and we've all been training since we've entered the Academy," said Sasuke, "Anyway, do you know of any chakra-increasing exercises? Strenuous ones, anyway."

"Well, you could water walk with several leaves stuck on your body, or practice ninjutsu. Your choice," replied the Jonin, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Sasuke nodded to himself, and walked over to a couple of logs set into the ground of the training field. '_Which jutsu? Fire maybe, or lightning. Let's see, right now I have high-Chuunin level chakra because of my experiences, so the highest Katon jutsu I could use might be __**Fire Dragon Bullet, **__and for Raiton maybe __**Lightning Surge**__. Hm, I'll try both.'_

Sasuke flicked through several handsigns, and called, "**Katon: Fire Dragon Bullet**!" A stream of fire shot out of Sasuke's mouth and collided with the targeted log, incinerating it instantly. The second he had paused in the fire-breathing, Sasuke signed several more times, and shouted, "**Raiton: Lightning Surge**!" Crackling formed around the Uchiha's hand, and he raised it to be level with the target. The lightning blurred toward its future victim, and reduced it to less than ashes; nothing was left but a burnt ring on the ground.

Sasuke was left panting and hunching over from the exertion; Kami, he needed to get back in shape. "Good Kami, teme! Where'd you learn how to do that?" exclaimed Naruto, coming up behind him. The Uchiha jumped slightly, and mentally berated himself. Looked like his senses also needed a boost. He looked at the blonde over his shoulder and smirked.

"That's a secret," he replied, annoying Naruto.

"What! That's not fair!"

Sasuke shrugged, "Well, that's a shinobi for you." Naruto ground his teeth, but didn't argue as the old saying resurfaced: Deception is a shinobi's best tool.

"Well, do you think you could teach me?" he asked. Sasuke frowned.

"What about your tree climbing?"

"Oh, I'm done with that." Sasuke stared at the blonde and turned full to face him.

"Already?"

"It wasn't that hard. It was kind of like leaf-sticking, but with your feet, and you're a leaf that can move. So I just used just a little more chakra than for leaf sticking, and boom, I got it," he explained, grinning from ear to ear. Sasuke was impressed by the blonde's deduction, and mused, '_I know that this is a different timeline, but this Naruto seems to be a lot smarter than the other.'_

"Hn. Well, back to your question: You have to get permission from Kakashi to train like me and Sakura. Whenever he gets back, ask him. Anyway, I need a short break," said Sasuke before shunshinning to the pond Sakura was at. There, the pink-haired girl was drenched in water, making her clothes cling and Sasuke's attention wander slightly as he got closer to her.

"Sakura, how's it going?" he asked, stopping about five feet from her. She turned and gave him a neutral look, debating whether to tell him or not.

"Fine, nearly got it," she replied shortly before facing the water again. She placed her hand on the surface of the pond, and slowly, water began to build underneath her hand. Her hand rose steadily out of the water, and with it a sphere of water about two feet in diameter. She raised it to head level and held it there for about three minutes, before it burst, soaking her further. Sakura sighed. "This is the longest I've gotten so far, but I think it's good enough," she said. Sasuke nodded, trying to ignore the way her clothes clung, and only succeeding marginally.

"Well, I guess just try to find Kakashi. He disappeared again, as always," he suggested, putting his hands in his pockets.

Sakura's head snapped toward him. "HE'S GONE AGAIN?!" she demanded furiously. Sasuke nodded weakly, and she stormed off. The Uchiha felt a pang of pity for the Jonin whenever Sakura found him; Kakashi would be lucky to _not_ break anything. Sasuke shunshinned back to where he had left Naruto, and found said man standing next to him.

"Ah, Sasuke. Nice of you to join us, now if Sakura could-" started Kakashi before he was cut off.

"KAKASHI YOU BASTARD! DON'T LEAVE EVER AGAIN!" bellowed a semi-demonic voice directly behind him, and his visible eye widened as he front-flipped to avoid the incoming danger which was a fist with enough force for decapitation. A wrathful Sakura stomped menacingly toward the man, cracking her knuckles for another blow.

"Wait! I didn't leave for long! Just an hour or so!" defended Kakashi, holding up his hands in a surrendering manner. She snarled and continued her advance. He looked frantically to the other boys, hoping they would defend him. They, however, had scattered, leaving poor Kakashi to a demented Sakura. "CURSE YOU, SASUKE AND NARUTOOOOOOO!" he screamed as he was sent flying into the sky with a kick from Sakura.

In the trees, the two boys sweat-dropped. "Hope he won't be too mad," said Naruto, trying to see where their sensei had gone. Kakashi always got himself into these situations; how these kind of things came along was beyond the two of them. Sasuke shook his head and sighed.

"I doubt he will be," he replied, "Hey, dobe, can we get going to my house? You know, for the seals?" Naruto grinned and nodded eagerly. They jumped from the tree and jogged back to the village, and when the smell of ramen wafted through the air, Naruto halted. "What is it-oh," started Sasuke before he smelled the ramen. He shrugged. It was close to lunch anyway. "Alright, let's eat," he said, and by the time he had finished his sentence, the blonde had already ducked under the cloth flaps of Ichiraku ramen.

Sasuke sighed again, and followed him. Inside, they were greeted by Teuchi and Ayame. "Hey, Naruto, Sasuke. What's your order today?" asked the old man, Ayame disappearing in the back.

"Two large bowls of miso, please!" said Naruto, nearly jumping from his seat.

"A bowl of pork," replied the other. Teuchi relayed the order to his daughter, and five minutes later the two were eating. Naruto finished his ramen first, of course, and waited impatiently for his teammate. As soon as he was done, they thanked them and exited the stand, heading towards the Uchiha complex. When the two reached the front gate, Naruto gazed upon it.

"Sheesh, I know I've passed by this several times, but I never knew it was your house, teme," he said, turning his head and grinning at the Uchiha. Sasuke rolled his eyes and opened the gate. They walked through the desolate compound; after looking for other family members, Naruto asked, "Hey, teme, where's the rest of your family? It's a ghost town out here."

"The rest of my clan is dead," answered Sasuke flatly, "They died when I was eight." Naruto glanced at the Uchiha, and studied him for a few seconds.

Eventually, he said sympathetically, "Seems like you have it worse than me on that." Sasuke looked at the blonde curiously.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I've never had a family, so I've never developed those ties, so they could never hurt me. But you… you've had those ties torn away, and I bet it hurts everyday," he turned toward Sasuke, "Doesn't it?"

Sasuke nodded slowly, the words striking him deeply. In the back of his mind, he admired Naruto's wisdom, but the main part was in painful reminiscence. Even though Sasuke was long over the urge to seek out revenge, it didn't mean that he still didn't mourn the loss of his clan sometimes. That night was still fresh in his mind, and it would probably remain so for the rest of his life. "It does hurt, and it will hurt forever," admitted Sasuke, voicing his thoughts, "I'm not invincible."

"No one is, Sasuke. Not even the great Uchihas were," consoled Naruto, and then he relieved the serious atmosphere by grinning brightly, "Now, about those seals." Sasuke smiled wanly, and nodded. They went into the main building of the complex, and Sasuke went into his room to retrieve the gloves.

"Here," said Sasuke, walking out of the room and tossing a pair of grey fingerless gloves to the blonde. Naruto nodded, and pulled a paper seal from his back pocket. He unsealed a paintbrush and ink bottle, and quickly went to work painting a storage seal on the palm of the gloves. Sasuke stood to the side while Naruto worked, crossing his arms and leaning on a wall.

"There! Done," said the blonde, finishing the seal. Sasuke looked up and took the gloves, examining them. He drew Raijin and pressed onto the seal. He focused chakra into the seal and sword, and Raijin disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He pulled the gloves on, held out his hand, and focused. Raijin appeared directly in his hand, and Sasuke took a few practice katas. After that, he smirked at the blonde.

"Good work, dobe," he thanked, sealing Raijin back. Naruto smiled largely, and the two walked out of the complex, and immediately ran into Hinata, who they (except Naruto) hadn't seen since the Genin assignments. She blushed furiously when she saw Naruto, who was also blushing. Sasuke frowned puzzled. The group was silent, until the blonde of the group decided to break it.

"Uh, hey H-Hinata. S-sorry about that one day," he stuttered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Hinata didn't respond, simply choosing to stare at him while blushing. Naruto stopped scratching his head, and saw the blush. "Hey, Hinata, why are you red?" He placed his face an inch from her's, and unintentionally smelled the lavender scent that she always seemed to have.

'_Lavender,'_ thought Naruto blissfully, accidently bowing his head right into Hinata's chest. She was frozen for a second, and then gave a deafening "EEP!" before fainting and falling onto the ground. Naruto stood instantly ramrod-straight, and flushed. He stared at Hinata, and glanced pleadingly at Sasuke, who gave him a look that meant, "This is your problem. Deal with it." Naruto wanted to kill the Uchiha for that, but bent down and picked up Hinata, carrying her on his back. He took off toward the Hyuuga complex, leaving an amused and exasperated Sasuke behind.

'_Even though this Naruto is smarter, he's still as dense as ever,'_ thought Sasuke, chuckling lightly. He shook his head, and walked back into the compound. He trained with Raijin for the rest of the day, sweating profusely by the end of it. He had practiced unsealing it mid-combat, and special maneuvers or tricks that stemmed from being able to pull a sword from mid-air. Sasuke went in, unaware that he had been watched the entire time from Naruto and him arriving and him going in. The figure stayed at its vantage point in a tree, and nodded its head before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

**Well, that's that. The updates are going to be slower due to school and, well… me being half-Nara. Mix that in with a little Akimichi, what do you get? Something not good. Anyway, please review, and thank you to the ones who did and will do so! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, here's the new chapter. And if there are any loose ends or if I go too fast, review or PM me, 'cause I don't plan ahead much. I just have major events set, and I write whatever comes to mind. Hehe. ^^;**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

The next day, the team met at Training Ground 7 at 9:00 in the morning. The preordained time set by Kakashi was 7:00, but the team had learned very quickly that he was at least three to four hours late. They usually met up before the actual arrival time to practice either team or individual tactics and stratagems. Today, however, the hyperactive blonde was barely keeping his eyes from drooping, and he was swaying slightly where he stood. Sasuke looked at him concernedly, and asked, "Uh, Naruto? Did you get enough sleep?"

The blonde's eyelids, which had been slowly traveling down, snapped open, and he blinked several times, gathering himself. Naruto yawned widely, and mumbled groggily, "I'm okay…just tired." He stumbled, and began to search in his back pocket for something. Naruto pulled a pair of pink gloves from his pocket and walked clumsily towards Sakura. "'Ere you go, Sakura-chan. The gloves you wanted." Sakura looked down at them. They had fingers unlike Sasuke's, and instead of a single seal being set into the palm, a tiny seal was set into the index, middle, and ring finger. She smiled up at the blonde.

"Thanks, Naruto. Did you stay up all night to make these?" she asked. Naruto nodded slowly.

"Now, if I can lie down," he muttered, falling forward and face-planting. The two left standing sweat dropped, and did so even more as loud snoring was heard. '_Geez, Naruto-dobe can go to sleep anywhere. One of the few things I envy,' _thought Sasuke, shaking his head.

He turned towards Sakura, who was pulling on her gloves, and asked, "Need some practice to get used to those gloves?"

She looked at him coolly, and replied, "Sure. Let me check if any senbon are stored in the seal though." She focused chakra towards the seal, and it was soon apparent that the blonde had not stored any. Sakura shrugged, and from a leg and waist holster pulled roughly thirty senbon. She focused chakra into the seals, and the needles disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Ready," said Sakura, shifting into a stance. Sasuke nodded, and rushed her, forcing her to flip backward and throw a punch, which was dodged by the Uchiha. He pulled out a shuriken and launched it at Sakura, who substituted with a log. He was instantly on alert, activating his Sharingan and scanning the area. A whistling sound caught his attention, and Sasuke jumped to the side as three senbon slammed into the spot he had been. Sakura burst from the forest, and slashed at him with three needles held by her fingers, making a sort of claw. The attack grazed him on the leg, and he winced. Kami, that _stung_. He leaped backward and landed twenty feet away, and he instantly took a defensive stance. Sakura, however, stood in place and smirked at him, and lifted the hand with the senbon.

They shot out with frightening speed, and Sasuke was hit in both arms and torso. He cringed, but leapt away as she charged for a finishing punch. He landed on a tree branch, and pulled out the needles. Sasuke noticed that they were shining slightly, and his stomach plummeted. Poison. '_Shit. Gotta end this quick. Not sure if this is deadly or not.'_ He jumped from the tree, and charged Sakura, who was searching the surrounding area for him. He went at full speed, which was about low-Jonin, and covered the thirty-foot distance in about a second, surprising her.

Sasuke quickly jabbed her in the gut and then kneed her in the head when she hunched over, sending her into the air. He quickly followed up with a few kicks in the gut, and she sailed about five feet before slamming into the ground. She lay there, unconscious. Sasuke nodded and thought, '_Now, about these needles…'_ he trailed off, realizing his mistake. '_Kami, I'm stupid! I knocked out the only medic around here!' _He felt the poison start to finally take effect now since the adrenaline had worn off. '_Damn. Gonna go.'_ A wave of comfortable blackness swirled around the Uchiha, and soon it swallowed him completely.

* * *

"You're a baka sometimes, Sasuke," berated a familiar voice, and warm hands crisscrossed his chest. Sasuke cracked an eye open. He was on the ground, with Naruto standing over him looking worried and Sakura kneeling beside him, bandaging his chest wound. He looked around, but still did not find Kakashi.

"How long was I out?" he mumbled, trying to sit up, but was pushed back down by Sakura. He then realized that he was bare-chested, and reddened slightly. He fought it back down, but not until it was noticed by both teammates. Sakura smiled mischievously, and Naruto erupted into whoops of laughter and fell to the ground.

"About half an hour, though you could've been up in five minutes if you hadn't knocked me out," said Sakura, answering Sasuke's question. He looked the other way sheepishly, and Sakura continued to bandage him up quietly with the blonde cracking up in the background. She inspected the wounds, and nodded to herself. "The wounds should heal quickly. Senbon, as you know, can't kill unless they hit vital areas." She let him stand, and Naruto stood as well, getting over his laughing fit.

Naruto was the first to speak, "Well, Sensei still isn't here. Any idea of what to do? Team exercises, maybe?" In team exercises, Naruto would create thirty clones, and the three of them would try to defeat the clones as a team. The clones could only use taijutsu, while Team 7 could use anything at their disposal. It was beneficial in many ways, and the challenge would never grow easier as the clones would grow in strength along with the original.

Sasuke enjoyed it, but he was getting irked that in taijutsu alone the blonde was getting close to defeating him. However, he was simultaneously impressed. If he Sasuke hadn't been such a dick when he first met Naruto, he could've actually assessed the level of power the blonde was capable of.

"Well?" asked Naruto, dragging Sasuke back to the present.

"Right, team exercises… That'd be fun," he grinned at Naruto, who grinned back. Sakura rolled her eyes, but agreed.

"Alright, but let me doing something first," said the blonde. He made the clone handsign and twenty Kage Bunshins appeared behind him. "Alright! The twenty of you go to the library and study fuinjutsu. I think today would be a good day to start advanced level, dattebayo!" he ordered, and the clones saluted before running off.

"I'm never going to get the image of you studying out of my head," said Sasuke shaking his head before one word registered with him. He looked questioningly at Naruto. "Wait, advanced? How long have you been studying?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well, with my clones, I have about two thousand hours on basics." Both teammates' jaw dropped, even with Sakura's knowledge of how hours could compound using Kage Bunshin, but this was just… ridiculous.

"Good Kami, no wonder you're growing in power so fast, Naruto," commented a voice behind them. The trio whipped around to an eye-smiling Kakashi leaning against a tree. He waved lazily, and asked, "What do you mean by team exercises, though?"

They looked at each other, and Sasuke answered, "Something beneficial for the whole team. You can watch." He turned toward Naruto, who nodded and created thirty clones. The clones walked to a spot about twenty feet away, and got in an offensive position. They got into a rectangular formation, six clones long and five clones wide with three feet of space between them. Team 7's formation was wedged-shape with Sasuke leading and his teammates on either side. They each up took up their respective stances, Sasuke with Fist-Intercepting, Naruto with Mantis (in which he bent his legs and body slightly and held his right hand slightly higher and in front of his left. Both arms are bent slightly), and Sakura with an unnamed style invented by herself back in the original timeline.

"Haijime!" shouted Kakashi, startling the combatants into conflict. The clones kept their rigid formation as they charged, but as Team 7 neared, Sakura halted in her advance and began to throw senbon at the clones, which broke up the shape slightly. A few needles hit, dispelling the clones, but there were more to replace them.

"Naruto! Alpha!" yelled Sasuke. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this; team formations? Naruto seemed to understand as he pulled ahead of Sasuke and threw a few of kunai at the mass. The clones leaped into the air, but not until Naruto shouted, "**Katsu!**" The tags, which had been hidden on the handles, exploded, taking with it about five clones. The formation lost, the clones rushed blindly at the Genin, who methodically began to defeat each one. Some, however, bypassed the two front-fighters and charged Sakura, who unsealed a handful of needles and launched them like she had with Sasuke, effectively killing/dispelling each one.

In the brunt of the melee, Sasuke was getting winded. Most of the clones fought with the brawler-like style that Naruto had once used, but slowly they were integrating clones that would use Mantis. This particular one had ten or so Mantis-using clones, and Sasuke had just encountered and bested five consecutively. Though each clone was only using minimum power, each Mantis clone took a about a minute to defeat, and a minute was an eternity on the battlefield. He glanced at Naruto to see how he was fairing, and nearly had a heart attack.

The blonde was battling the other five Mantis clones _simultaneously_, attacking and defending a hell of lot faster than Sasuke ever could; however, the regular clones were throwing random punches when the blonde lowered his guard. Sasuke unsealed Raijin and cut down two clones before the rest registered his presence. He was instantly locked in combat with about seven normal clones, which he beat with ease. After the smoke from dispelling cleared, no clones were left, Naruto finally defeating his five Mantis clones and Sakura picking off the stragglers.

A clapping was heard, and the entire team turned to see Kakashi applauding. "Good teamwork, though still a little rough, but a lot better than normal Genin. Let me give me a few pointers: Sakura, I like that you were support, but you didn't pay attention to your teammates, and Naruto soon found himself in a potentially deadly situation if this had been for real. Sasuke, I guess Alpha was a strategy used to break up formations, but pay attention to your teammates as well. You too, Naruto. Sasuke was tiring after those special clones, and a few clones flew right by you two and attacked Sakura. You're both lucky that she can defend herself very well, or then your support _and _medic would've been killed. But overall, a nice job. Chuunin level at least. Now, I have a mission for you guys."

"Aw, c'mon sensei, not one of those chores again!" complained Naruto.

"Hn," grunted Sasuke, and then he realized that that was the first time he had used the Uchiha grunt in this timeline.

"That's all you're gonna back me up with, teme?" demanded Naruto, looking indignant. Before he could reply, Kakashi cut in.

"This is a C-rank mission, Naruto," said Kakashi, earning him a loud whoop from the blonde and, curiously, startled expressions from the other two. He would figure that out later, however.

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a glance. This mission was well before the Wave, which to them was to take place about two weeks later. Why Kakashi had suddenly decided to give them a C-rank was unknown, and Sakura piped up, "A C-rank? So early? Do you think we're ready, Sensei?"

"Hell yeah, we're ready, Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly, barely containing his energy. Sakura glanced at him sharply, but didn't say anything.

"For once, the blonde is right," said the Jonin, getting him a glare from Naruto, "I do think this team is ready to deal with a C, with Sasuke being an all-rounder, Sakura being a medic, and Naruto, well, being Naruto."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Anyway, the mission is a delivery mission," at this, Sasuke and Sakura visibly relaxed, "and shouldn't be too hard. We're going to deliver a shipment of uncut gems to the Konoha gate, and we should only meet a few bandits or something. It's in the Land of Tea at the mining village of Gyoku, and it should take about three days or so. Pack for four." He turned toward Naruto. "Think you can give them a couple of storage seals?" The blonde nodded. "Alright, get ready. We meet at the gate at two, so you have about three hours to get ready." He shunshinned in a swirl of leaves.

The Genins grinned each other, and Naruto pulled a small cloth bag with a drawstring from his pocket. He loosened it and drew about ten small square of paper from it. "Here are the seals. Each should hold about fifty pounds of stuff, but how to tell is for each thing sealed, the paper inside the seal will grow darker 'till all you have is a dark circle." He handed them five squares each, and rushed off to gather his things.

Sasuke and Sakura shared a glance, and Sakura smiled slightly and shunshinned off, leaving a startled, hopeful, and most of all confused Sasuke. '_Ok, that was weird. Better than a kick in the ass I suppose, though…yeah, smiling beats that any day.'_ He disappeared in his own custom shunshin, a dispersion of lightning sparks.

* * *

Three hours later, Team 7 was waiting patiently at the Konoha gate, hoping that their ever-tardy sensei would be miraculously on time. He wasn't of course, but instead of being three hours late, he was about fifteen minutes behind, an acceptable time. He eye-smiled at his team, who deadpanned at him. "We ready?" They nodded, and Naruto finally let out the enthusiastic cheer he had been holding back.

"Finally! I'm out of the village. Let's go!" he shouted, pumping the air with his fists. Sasuke just shook his head, and Sakura smiled at the blonde. He had said the exact same thing before the Wave mission. Sakura hoped that this mission wouldn't turn out like that horrendous memory even though they were more than ready for that kind of challenge. Knowing Sasuke and Naruto though, they would happily embrace it.

She looked over at the Uchiha, and felt a small surge of mistrust go through her as well as a pang of something else, something unidentifiable. She shrugged mentally; it was nothing to pay attention to. Though she was closer to trusting Sasuke, it didn't mean she was closer to giving back her love. Sakura, however, doubted that she was ever going to love him again, though that pang was… nothing, she wouldn't worry about it. "Alright team," said Kakashi, breaking through her thoughts, "Let's start in the trees, then we approach the border, go to the ground to appear friendly. The Land of Tea has been the target of bandits lately, especially ones that have minimal ninja training, allowing them to cover distances in the trees." Team 7 nodded, and they were off.

About five hours later ,they reached a spot about five miles outside the border, and jumped down to the road being used by civilians. They continued at a brisk jogging pace for about half an hour until they reach the gate allowing entrance into the Land of Tea. "Your packs," grumbled a guard at the gate gruffly. There were two men on duty at this entrance, one looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there and the other leering lecherously at Sakura. '_Try anything perv, and you feel a kick in somewhere you don't want me to kick,'_ growled Sakura mentally, taking off her pack with the others and handing it to the guard who had ordered them to do so, thankfully not the pervert.

The lecher, however, offered to search her pack, and turned to where no one could see what he was doing. "**OH, NO YOU DON'T!**" bellowed Sakura, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and kicking a soon-to-be her right where it hurts.

* * *

Somewhere in some brothel, a white-haired man shivered and sheltered his precious possession the best he could, even though it was doing pretty horrible things right now. **(A/N: Yeah, try to get THAT out of your head)**

* * *

"YOWWWW!" yelped the man/ future woman in a soprano, shooting straight up in the air. Sakura dusted her hands, pleased with her handiwork, and looked to see how far up he/she went. The boys of the group had winced as she had kicked, and thought, '_Kami, don't want to piss her off anytime soon.' _The man/woman came back down hard, howling the entire way and creating a person-sized crater on impact. The other guard looked at the crater for a full five seconds, before roaring in laughter.

"Oh, that was great! That's the first funny thing that's happened around here so far! Kami, I can't stop laughing!" he laughed, clutching his side and letting out gigantic whoops. Sasuke grinned slightly, Kakashi eye-smiled, and Naruto joined the guard in his laughing fit. Sakura smirked over at the group, and walked to grab her pack. In about a minute, the guard composed himself, though he chuckled randomly as he handed them their packs. "You're cleared."

They nodded and sprinted for about an hour, cutting the distance to their destination in half, and jogged for two before arriving at Gyoku. At the gate, they were halted by three cranky guards who searched their packs. Sakura kept an eye on both of them, but the guards seemed to be at least honest, searching the packs in full view. While this would've embarrassed Sakura before, she didn't care as long they weren't pervs or anything. After the search, they had to go through a pat-down, which she vehemently argued against.

"Why the hell the pat-down?! Aren't the packs enough?" she demanded, keeping the urge to knock these two into next week under restraint.

"Look here, girly. Bandits have gotten in with swords stuck up places where they don't just go. We gotta pat you down, or you don't get in the village. We'll get a lady for you. Suya! C'mere!" A small, thin woman appeared from behind the gatehouse, and bowed to the guards. "Can you check this brat here?" She nodded, and turned to Sakura, who sighed and held out her arms. Suya began to search her for anything that was considered dangerous, and eventually saw the seals on the gloves.

"What are these?" she asked.

"Storage."

"Take them off and give them to me."

"What? Why?" demanded Sakura. She looked over to where the boys were having their own search and saw Sasuke was having the same problem. '_Hope to Kami he doesn't snap and slash everything in sight.'_

"Just do it." Sakura sighed again and pulled off the gloves. She tossed them to the lady, who inspected them closely. She handed them back, and said, "Everything seems to be in order. You're cleared." Sakura put the gloves back on, and rejoined the rest of the group. Kakashi shook his head after they had gotten out of earshot of the guards.

"The security of this village is ridiculously high. The bandit problem must be worse than the report mentioned," stated the Jonin, then he eye-smiled at his Genin. "Let's find an inn for the night, OK?" The exhausted Genin nodded. They roomed in a small, cozy inn, and were served dinner. The next day, Team 7 ate breakfast at the inn before checking out. "OK team, we gotta find the leader of this village, and then follow him to where he has the shipment," said Kakashi. Sakura nodded, barely hearing him.

The town hall of Gyoku was small, to be expected, but was decorated lavishly on the interior. Different jewels of varying colors decked the entrance room, and in the office of the leader was a gigantic emerald the size of Kakashi in one corner of the room. Sakura admired the dazzling display, but at the same time thought it to be a bit gaudy.

The village's head was middle-aged man with graying hair and wrinkled skin. He had a grandfatherly aura to him, but his eyes were a no-nonsense, crystal blue. As the team entered, he stood from a chair behind a desk with the ease of someone much younger and shook Kakashi's hand. "Hello, you must be the team I sent for."

"That we are…"

"Doji Gemaru."

"Nice to meet you, Doji-sama. This is Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto," said Kakashi, gesturing to each as he mentioned them. Sakura scrutinized the man for any crack in the calming personality, but found none. '_Seems legit.'_ Doji smiled at them, and moved from behind the desk, walking to the door. He motioned for them to follow, and they did, exiting the building and heading toward the rear of the village. Along the way, he talked.

"The bandits that the report said are low-level, nearly civilian. They also don't usually attack in large groups. Your team should have little problem taking them on."

"Just how bad is the situation? Judging by the security, it's worse than the report let on," asked Kakashi. Doji looked down and sighed.

"The reason security is so extreme is that we've had bandits get into the village by disguise, and try to sabotage the mine or steal finished gems. They would smuggle in weapons on their person, and they would kill anyone that got in their way. We _had _to tighten our gates."

Sakura was unsurprised by the bandit's determination; this village was the hub of precious metal and gem mining, and controlling it would bring the one in charge massive amounts of money. She shook her head. Stupid rogues. The group eventually reach an entrance to a mine set into the side of a hill, and Doji called down the tunnel, "Hey! Bring that cart up!" A rumbling sound answered him, and a minute later a cart appeared out of the entrance, loaded with what looked like regular rocks.

Naruto frowned. "Why are we carrying these stupid stones? There's nothing special about them."

Kakashi sighed, "They don't look like gems because they haven't been cut. Now pull out some storage scroll and get to work." The blonde scowled but did what he was told. He handed Sasuke and Sakura a scroll, and each began to seal each rock. In a few minutes they were done. The group walked back to the town hall where Doji parted ways.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san," he said, bowing. Kakashi nodded, and they walked back to the gate. The guards stationed at the gate watched as the Konoha ninja left. Suya, the woman that had searched Sakura, smirked and pressed a finger to her ear.

"The target has left the village. Get ready."

* * *

As soon as the group was out of Gyoku, they took to the trees, knowing that they wouldn't pass any village on the way to the border. Sakura looked over at Sasuke, and glimpsed his glove's seal as he jumped and grabbed a tree branch. She had followed the two boys to the Uchiha complex, and had watched as Naruto got through to Sasuke, who for once didn't have a snappy comeback. '_He really means to help. Can't say I trust him fully, but my impression of him now is certainly better than it was,'_ she though before a shuriken came whistling by, nearly taking out an eye.

"Trap!" shouted Kakashi, jumping to avoid an arrow.

"Where?" yelled Naruto, meaning to find the direction. His question was soon answered.

"There!" A volley of about twenty arrow came from the north, revealing the position of the attack. However, at the same time, forty bandits appeared from behind trees, surrounding them grinning mercilessly at the cornered team.

"Gotcha, kiddies! Now give us those gems!" barked a scarred man, obviously the leader judging by the way he carried himself. Sakura unsealed a few senbon to launch at the man, but was stayed by Naruto's hand. "Not yet," his look told her, and he slowly took out a scroll marked 'Storage'.

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" exclaimed the Jonin, trying to grab the scroll from Naruto.

"Saving our lives," he said, and he unfurled it and a cloud of smoke blanketed the area. When it cleared, the team was gone.

"Wha? Where'd they go?" wondered the leader aloud. In a tree not fifty feet from the bandits, the group was formulating a plan of attack.

"OK, we need someone to go after those archers and the ground units. Who's up for it?"

"I think Kakashi-sensei should take the archers. He can handle twenty easy being a Jonin. On the other hand, we as a Genin squad should take the forty ground units. Though I'm sure he could handle those easily as well, he can't be in two places at once," suggested Naruto. The rest nodded, liking the sound idea.

"Hey, the damned ninja are in the trees!" shouted a bandit, discovering their hiding spot.

"Great," muttered Sakura, launching a senbon into the man's thoat, silencing him. However, his call was heard and the team could hear the stomping of many feet coming toward their position.

"Alright, team! Move out!" ordered Kakashi, jumping from the tree branch and running north, toward the archers. The Genin landed on the ground and shifted into an offensive position and formation. Sakura unsealed three needles and readied them to be shot. Suddenly, ten bandits burst from behind a cluster of trees to their right, bellowing a battle cry that was quickly cut off as Sakura shot the senbon at them, catching three of them in the throat or forcing the others to dodge. Naruto took out two tagged kunai and threw them against trees on either side. He rolled up his sleeve and slapped on another seal that stuck. Puffs of smoke erupted from the kunai, and then there were two Kage Bunshins to intercept those remaining.

Sasuke looked over to the blonde who held two fingers and then five. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together, but she would ask about that later. The bandits were surprised by the clones, allowing them to take out three before they got over it and drew their rusty blades. The clones were outnumbered two to one, but a second later, another puff of smoke came out of each kunai, and two more clones joined the fray.

'_Ok, they have that. Now where are the others?'_ thought Sakura before dodging a shuriken from the left. Twenty bandits rushed from the brush to the left fifty feet away from the Genin, swords drawn and teeth bared. Twenty feet away, Sasuke flicked through handsigns and shouted, "**Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!**" A massive ball of orange flame exploded from his mouth, and engulfed five of them, and burning ten. Naruto threw an explosive tag in the middle of them, which instantly detonated the second it impacted the ground. It took out five more, leaving seven shaken but uninjured and three badly burned.

The agony of the burns was quickly ended by Sakura as she threw senbon at the bandits, piercing the eyes, throat, or chest. Unknown to the team, however, was a small group of ten sneaking from the right again. Sakura was the first to sense them, and she whipped around and immediately punched one that was three away, sending him flying into another. '_Time to use this. Hope it works!' _"**Suiton: Water Bullet!**" A high-pressured blast of water shot from her mouth and collided with two more. Now, though, the bandits were in striking range, and her other teammates were still entangled with the second group.

A bandit slashed at her, and she flipped backward and aimed a punch for his midsection, which he also dodged. Sakura smirked. Water shot from her fist and slammed into the man, knocking him out. The five remaining were wary, but were taunted into an attack when she sneered and cursed at them. They instantly regretted though, as water formed around her arms and whipped to grab and trip the bandits. As each hit the ground, she hit them in the arm or leg where major nerves were, paralyzing them. She wiped her hands, which had grown sweaty, and turned back to her teammates.

Sasuke had Raijin out and was decapitating the last one, which strangely had a seal pressed onto his forehead. Both were breathing hard, and Naruto looked a bit nauseous. Sasuke wiped his sword on the ground and resealed it. "All done," he said quietly, whitening slightly at the sight and smell of the bodies he had burned. '_I thought he'd be used to killing,'_ she thought before laying eyes on the bodies with needles protruding from vital areas. She winced and felt her breakfast try to come back up. She took a few deep breaths and felt the sickness pass. '_Killing is the way of the shinobi, killing is the way of the shinobi,' _she intoned silently, her old mantra resurfacing.

She had killed before, twice while Naruto was with Jiraya, and then Sasori. It still affected her, though. It would forever, no matter how many she slayed. Sakura had developed a phrase that she would repeat to herself to justify murder, and it was probably the thread that kept her from going off the edge. She shuddered, and tried to comfort Naruto, who was clutching a bloody kunai.

* * *

Kakashi finished the last of the bastards with bows with a chop to the neck, snapping it. He immediately turned and rushed to the area he had left. He was worried about his Genins' mental state; it was their first kill, or so he believed. The worst might be Sakura; in his experience, kunoichi bore the weight of killing worse. It sounded sexist, but unfortunately it was true for most women. Even Anko was affected; she simply wore the mask to protect herself. Though he knew that men could go to greater lengths to end their agony and/or guilt. Take his father for example.

He reach the cluster of trees he had left his team, and saw Sakura comforting Naruto, who was crying and holding a kunai covered in blood. His kill was directly in front of him; the leader of the attack with his throat cut with one clean slash. Kakashi winced. A clean first kill was harder to deal with; it implied that the person didn't care, and since Naruto knew the truth of what he was, Kakashi was extremely worried. Sasuke leaned against a tree with his arms crossed nearby, and would've come off as untroubled if it weren't for his fingers being white from gripping his arms.

Kakashi jumped from the tree. "Everyone alright?" Sakura looked up and nodded. Kakashi was surprised that she wasn't reacting as violently as he had imagined. Her eyes were gloomy, but other that there was no other sign that the kill had affected her. '_That's…odd and potentially a bad sign._'

"Me and Sasuke are alright, but Naruto…" she trailed off. With her silence, Kakashi heard what Naruto was saying.

"I'm the Kyuubi, I'm the Kyuubi, I'm the Kyuubi," he muttered, slowly rocking back and forth. Kakashi's heart constricted and he saw Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a glance. Kakashi guessed they were mystified with what Naruto was saying. He knelt down near the blonde.

"Naruto," he whispered, "You are not the Kyuubi. Quit saying that." The blonde looked up at Kakashi.

"Sensei, quit lying." Kakashi felt his stomach twist.

"What?"

"I killed him. Nothing to it. The villagers say I'm the Fox, and they're right. I should just-" He lifted the kunai to impale himself. Kakashi's eye widened, and he reached to stop him, but it was already falling-

A foot came from thin air and connected to Naruto's gut, knocking the wind from him and forcing him to let go of the kunai. Kakashi snapped his gaze upward and saw an enraged Sasuke. The Uchiha grabbed the blonde by the collar, and bellowed in his face, "Who are you, Naruto Uzumaki!?" Naruto looked stunned, and Sasuke shook him. "WHO ARE YOU!?"

"Sasuke! Put him down!" ordered Kakashi.

"No! Look, Naruto, everyone on this team knows of your secret! We know that the Kyuubi was sealed inside of you on the night of the attack! Yet look at us! I don't beat you senseless or pretend you don't exist! Sakura doesn't run in fear from you! And Kakashi teaches you with a fair head! Villagers be damned with what they say! You are not the that bastard of a demon! You like the color ORANGE of all things!" Sasuke shook him roughly. "So let me ask you again: WHO ARE YOU!?"

"I'm-I'm-"

"Let me tell you! You are Naruto Uzumaki, hyperactive knuckle head of Konoha, the Dead Last, the next Hokage, MY RIVAL AND BROTHER!" With his tirade done, Sasuke dropped a speechless Naruto. Sasuke was breathing hard, and his face was flushed from rage. "Now let me ask you one more time: Who are you?"

Naruto stared at him for a full minute, before reply with a sad but grateful smile, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the hyperactive knucklehead of Konoha, the Dead Last, the next Hokage, and most of all, Sasuke's brother and rival." Sakura smiled and hugged him, and Kakashi eye-smiled. Disaster avoided. The group gathered together in a huddle and grinned, all except Naruto, who remained unusually silent. Kakashi grew slightly nervous at that, but knew it the beginning of a long process.

"Team 7, off!"

* * *

The fire crackled in front of Sakura, the image being reflected in her eyes. Sasuke could've sat there admiring it, but right now he was supposed to be asleep, so he kept the image, complete with a snore. His shift had been the first one, and then Sakura had relieved him, and next was Naruto. He turned slightly, trying to get into a more comfortable position.

Sasuke must have dozed a bit, because the next thing he heard was Naruto rising from his sleeping bag, and walking over to Sakura. He heard a soft whisper, and then a question in Naruto's voice just audible enough to him to hear, "So, when we get back to the village, how about a date?" Sasuke resisted the urge to jump up and wring the blonde's neck, brother or not. He sighed inwardly. Well, Naruto probably needed something to get his mind off the kill, and Sasuke knew that the blonde had always liked Sakura, and that Sakura had probably developed feelings for him as well during Sasuke's... defection. Nevertheless, her answer sent his heart plummeting into his stomach.

"Sure."

**Well, how about it? Good, bad, just too fast? Review or something. And if you see something that reminds of another story or if it's in your story, just understand that I sometimes copy. I'm kinda unimaginative. T.T (Sigh) Anyways, thanks for reading…OH YEAH! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Oops, forgot. And next is going to be... well you'll see. The summary didn't lie. And I just discovered that 'wanly' is not a word. 'Wan' is ( means weak), but not wanly. I'm not to going to correct it, but I may continue to use it. So, my new word: wanly=weakly, not putting effort into in, etc.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews, readers, especially Duesal10. Please, if I'm vague in anything or skip over things, review or something, and I'll fix it to the best of my abilities. But don't expect me to change a central aspect of the story; it ain't gonna happen. Anyway: I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, Kakashi was greeted by an irate Sasuke, a quiet but well Sakura, and a slightly happier Naruto, though his eyes retained their haunted look from yesterday. Kakashi was still worried about the blonde's mental state, but hopefully with what he had overheard last night, his worry would be baseless. His mind flashed back to yesterday's events: Sakura's and Sasuke's nonexistent reaction, Sasuke's words, and Naruto's attempted suicide.

He shuddered to think what might've happened if Sasuke hadn't of been fast enough, but what the Uchiha had said about the Kyuubi was…disturbing. Sakura had also shown no reaction to the reveal of an S-rank secret, and as if they had already knew about what happened the night of the attack. But how? It was a closely guarded secret, but then the entire village seemed to know about it, so maybe Naruto's jinchuriki status wasn't so closely guarded. Kakashi knew that Naruto had been told by that traitor Mizuki, and he now knew why the villagers hated him, even though he had probably suspected it. That kind of treatment would only the recovery harder, but fortunately the blonde had a team to fall back on, and what hopefully looked like a girlfriend.

Kakashi's mind turned toward the reactions, or lack thereof, of Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke he could explain a bit easier; the massacre could've desensitized him to blood and gore, and from what Kakashi had heard, Itachi had put him under a genjutsu that replayed the entire slaughter for twelve hours, or so it seemed to the young Sasuke. After a while of that, the part that defines emotion in a person erodes away, leaving a killing machine incapable of feeling. Kakashi, however, had seen Sasuke display a wide range of emotions, at least for an Uchiha. Kakashi shook his head and felt a headache coming on, one that would only get worse as he turned his attention to Sakura.

He had expected her to react the most violently out of the three, but instead when he arrived at the scene of the battle, _Sakura _was comforting _Naruto_, a total opposite of what he predicted. Not that Sakura hadn't felt anything; he could see gloom in her eyes, but for that to be the only reaction from a fresh Genin kunoichi was unsettling. He sighed, bringing with it the attention from the rest of his team. Kakashi looked up and eye-smiled at them, and asked, "Well, how are we this morning?"

"Hn."

"Fine, Kakashi-sensei."

"Fine, dattebayo," responded Naruto halfheartedly, reaching for his pack from which he pulled two scrolls. He unsealed a pan and some freeze-dried ingredients for a light soup from one, and a small pile of wood from another. He glanced at Sasuke, who understood. With a few handsigns, he blew a small stream of fire onto the wood, igniting it. Sakura got up to get water from a nearby stream, and Kakashi poked his head into his favorite book, irritating his Genin. When breakfast was ready, Kakashi wrenched himself from the notorious orange book.

"And I was just getting to a juicy part," he complained, and an urge to say something perverted rose in Naruto, but he didn't have the energy to say it, so they ate their meal in silence. After they were done, Naruto resealed all of the things, and the three Genin stood at attention in front of their sensei. Kakashi eye-smiled at them, and directed a question to Naruto and Sakura, "So, are the two lovebirds of this group finally ready to go?" Sakura blushed slightly but then glared at the Jonin; Naruto simply glared. "I guess so. Team 7, off!"

They reached the Konoha gate by mid-afternoon; the hot sun making them all sweat slightly. The team checked in with gate Chuunin, and entered the village. They headed for Mission Report, and along the way ran into Konohamaru. "Boss! How ya doing?" he asked excitedly.

"Fine, Konohamaru, fine. Just need to finish a mission," mumbled Naruto, not looking at the boy. Konohamaru could sense that something had happened on the mission, but at the looks of the blonde's teammates, he didn't ask.

"Oh, sorry. I'm going," he said, disappearing down an alley. A moment later, Ebisu landed in front of them.

He hesitated slightly when he saw Naruto, but he asked, "Did you see the honorable grandson anywhere?" Naruto grinned weakly up at the man, who flinched slightly; however, Naruto kept quiet.

"Yeah, we did. He went that way," replied Kakashi, pointing to an alley opposite of the one Konohamaru had run down. Ebisu thanked them and took off down the alley. The silver-haired Jonin chuckled slightly, and they walked the rest of the way to Mission Report uninterrupted. Once in the room, they saw Team 8 along with their sensei Kurenai.

"Hey, Naruto! How's it going?" asked Kiba loudly, not noticing this downcast side of Naruto. The blonde stayed silent, and only talked when he handed the scrolls to the Chuunin in charge of missions.

"Here are the scrolls," he muttered, backing away from the table. Kakashi glanced at him before stepping forward.

"Team 7 has successfully completed the C-rank mission. The entrance was smooth, but on the way back we ran into a group of bandits. Their number was sixty, roughly, and now they're all dead or incapacitated. After that, it was smooth again. The village head said that bandits in that area are vicious and determined to take over Gyoku, and he might ask for a couple of highly experienced Chuunin or new Jonin to take care of the problem permanently." The Chuunin behind the desk nodded, and Kiba nearly exploded when he heard 'C-rank'.

"What? Team 7 has already got a C? That's not fair! They have the Dead Last, of all people!" whined Kiba, the white puppy barking to agree. As a response, Naruto pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and slapped it onto the back of Kiba's neck. "Hey, what-" Kiba's mouth clamped shut before he could finish, and he fell to the floor. Shino looked from Naruto and Kiba and raised an eyebrow; inwardly he was applauding the blonde and laughing at his teammate. Hinata also looked between the two, and she was struggling to decide which to agree with. She chose to help her teammate as he was the one on the ground. She pulled off the seal, which read 'paralysis', and Kiba jumped to his feet. "You little squirt! Why I oughta beat you right here!"

"Bring it, mutt," said Naruto in a monotone, though his eyes were flaring, replacing the despair. '_Great. Something else to throw him further off his rocker,' _thought Kakashi, and he stepped between the two.

"C'mon, quit it. Don't act like children," he shook his head and looked at the other Jonin sensei, "Can you believe this, Kurenai? Three seconds together and they're already at each other's throats. "She sighed exasperatedly. '_Kakashi, you have no idea,' _she thought. Kakashi eye-smiled at her, and said, "Heh-heh, I wonder how the two males of your squad interact?"

"One's a wannebe dominant male," she replied, earning a glare from the Inuzuka, "and one's a bit creepy, and a nitpicker." This earned her a sinister look from the Aburame. "Alright, team, we did our mission for the day. You have the rest of the day off. Enjoy while you can." All of Team 8 exited the room, and Kakashi turned toward his own team. "Same thing she said," he said lazily, and all of them exited the room, except for Kakashi who shunshinned out.

The team wandered the streets of Konoha for an hour, stopping and gazing through windows of shops, but they only browsed. Sakura tried to force Naruto out of his bright orange jumpsuit by dragging him into a reputable clothing store, only to be kicked out unceremoniously. Sasuke had smirked when he had seen this and at the fact that a demonic aura was enveloping the pink-haired kuniochi as she marched back into the store. Naruto looked nervously at Sasuke, who simply shrugged and said, "Their fault." Naruto nodded understandably but still winced when the screams of terror and pain erupted from the clothing store. Sakura came back outside, a bright smile on her face, which unnerved both of them.

"C'mon in Naruto. I made them apologize, and now they'll sell you clothes!" she informed them, and she dragged the helpless blonde into the store, Sasuke smirking at the two of them and waiting at an outdoor café. An hour later, the pair came out, Naruto now almost unrecognizable with his new clothes.

Naruto's jacket was black with orange flames (Sasuke guessed that he couldn't let go of the orange completely) encircling the cuffs of it, not to mention it seemed to have many inside and outside pockets for him to store his fuinjutsu scrolls. He wore it open, showing a black shirt with a red swirl in the middle of the chest. The pants were also black, but instead of orange flames, an orange stripe ran up the outside of either leg. Underneath all of it, Sasuke could glimpse flashes of mesh armor. He was stunned for a few seconds; since when had the dobe developed fashion sense, but then his own fashion sense had gone right out the window whenever he met that snake.

The two sat down next to him, and he smirked and voiced his thoughts, "Since when do you dress without all that orange?"

The blonde sighed. "Sakura-chan forced me to. I don't like dark colors, but at least I kept some orange." The Uchiha smirked and rose to leave. He just about to walk out of earshot, he heard the painful reminder.

"So, Sakura-chan, how about the date?" That question brought with it another pang, which he wrestled down. Sasuke couldn't hear the answer as he walked out of earshot of the two. The jealously that he had been wrestling down now came to the forefront, and was slowly turning to rage. '_Why does the dobe get Sakura?...Well, I have been an ass, so I guess it's logical, plus Naruto has been nothing but nice to her, so it's not like he'll do something bad to her…If he did, he won't live to see another day,' _mused the Uchiha, now walking aimlessly down the street while lost in thought. He wandered to the outskirts of the village, into the Training Grounds. He arrived at Training Ground 7, and looked up to see Kakashi standing in front of the memorial stone.

Sasuke went to stand beside him, and peered at the stone. Engraved on it were several Uchiha names, none of them immediately recognizable. He wondered about the story behind each person; their life, their family, their dreams were now gone or rested on Sasuke, an unwanted burden. Kakashi spoke after a minute of silence between the two, "Sasuke…What brings you here?"

Sasuke didn't answer for a moment, studying the stone. Eventually he replied, "I don't know. Just wandered here." Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at this, but didn't comment. After another minute of silence, Sasuke asked, "Kakashi, can you answer a question for me?"

"Depends on the question."

Sasuke asked anyway, "I've read in the bingo book that one of your monikers is 'Sharingan Kakashi'. It said that you had a Sharingan implanted in your left eye, earning the name. I mean to ask how you got it." Sasuke lied about how he knew the moniker and the Sharingan; he doubted that the Jonin would believe he knew of the future. Kakashi sighed, and tried to avoid the question.

"How did a Genin like you get a bingo book? They're only given to Chuunin or above."

"My brother left one lying in his bedroom, and I found it one day. I was scanning through it when I saw your picture and name. You're an A-rank borderline S-rank former ANBU captain with the ability to summon ninken. Your affinities are lightning, fire, water, and earth, the affinity decreasing in that order. Your signature jutsus are Chidori and Raikiri. But that is beside the point. What I want to know is how you received your Sharingan." Sasuke knew it had something to do with someone called Obito, the one that, along with Madara, had killed them all in the original timeline.

Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose as he heard 'brother'. There was no hatred buried in the word; in fact, there seemed to be a hint of respect. He frowned, which couldn't be seen from behind the mask. He hoped this wasn't sign of early insanity, the respecting of the one who murdered most of your family. Kakashi eyed the last Uchiha carefully and answered, "I got from a dear friend, who is now dead." He knelt in front of the memorial stone, and brushed his fingers against a certain name: Obito Uchiha. "Here is his name. He was my teammate, and was the one who taught me the importance of teamwork. He also saved my life." He bent his head, and Sasuke knelt beside him.

The Uchiha studied the name. "I've never heard of him. Not once. Is it because he gave his eye away?"

Kakashi nodded. "No offense, but your clan were a bunch of pricks." Sasuke shrugged. He remembered that the main family, his family, were especially arrogant, the exception being Itachi. "When they heard that Obito had given his life and eye to me, they burned his name out of the family history of the Uchiha. The only proof of him living is my memories, and this stone." He brushed the name again.

Sasuke was silent, and then he asked, "Can you tell me about him?"

Kakashi nodded. "We were on a mission. My team was made up of me, Obito, and Rin," he brushed his hand against the name beside Obito's: Rin Nohara. "She was…special to Obito. The mission was to destroy Kannabi Bridge, a vital supply line for Iwa. Along the way, we ran into Iwa nin, and Rin was captured. I was prick back then as well, and I said to continue the mission without Rin. Obito wouldn't have it; he struck out on his own, but not saying, 'Those who abandon the mission are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!'." He stood along with Sasuke. "He left, and I stood there, stunned by his outburst. I realized that he was right, and I chased after him. When I found him, he was about to take a kunai in the chest, but I stopped it, at the cost of my left eye. At that point, Obito's Sharingan activated, and he defeated the enemy nin. We rescued Rin, but not before one of the remaining nin used a jutsu to collapse the cave that Rin was in. We were running, and a rock hit me, causing me to stumble. Another boulder was about to crush me, but Obito, his brave self, pushed me aside and took the boulder for me." He uncovered his Sharingan and looked directly at Sasuke. "Before he died, he gave his remaining gift, and made me swear to protect Rin." At the last part, Kakashi broke eye contact, and looked back at the memorial stone.

"How did she die?" asked Sasuke. Kakashi's shoulders hunched and he covered his left eye again.

"Don't want to talk about it. This memory is painful enough," he answered, sticking his hands in his pockets. He looked back at Sasuke, "Did that story answer your question?" The Uchiha nodded, and Kakashi walked off. Sasuke stared in the direction that he had gone, mentally stewing over Kakashi's words. '_Obito…reminds me of Naruto. Never abandoning your friends is essentially his second motto. An Uchiha with feelings…that's actually kind of amazing.' _He shook his head, and walked to the Uchiha complex. When he arrived, he looked at the gate with the clan insignia. '_To be an Uchiha was considered to be royalty at one time. But with power comes corruption. Obito was one of the few pure at heart. I was unfortunately not one of them, but I vow to never give up on this village, or my team. I swear on my life, as well as Itachi's.' _He smiled slightly, and entered the complex. Inside, he headed straight to the practice field, along the way unsealing Raijin and activating his Sharingan. Time to get to work.

* * *

"So, Sakura-chan, how about the date?" asked Naruto, his eyes smiling. Sakura smiled back, and thought to herself, '_This is really happening. I may as well, since during my younger years I was kinda mean to him. Plus, he was always nice to me, a definite upside.'_

"How about tonight at about seven?" she suggested. The blonde smiled slightly at her.

"Tonight it is. Where do you want to go?" Sakura giggled. '_Huh, my first time giggling in a long time. Anyway, since when had Naruto been chivalrous?' _She thought about where the date would be, and tried to pick a place where both of them would be comfortable, and eventually one came to her.

"Hey, Naruto, what about Ichiraku?"

Naruto's brow furrowed; not that he had a problem with it, but it was an unusual place for a first date. "You sure?" She nodded. "Alright. Err, thanks Sakura-chan." Her eyebrows rose at this. He explained further, "For picking Ichiraku. You know that it's one of the few places that will serve me, and where I'm comfortable." She smiled widely at him, who blushed. He rose and said, "Well, see you at seven, Sakura-chan." He walked off, leaving Sakura behind. She smiled again, and shunshinned off.

Naruto's mind wandered as he walked. An image of the body of the bandit he killed floated through his mind's eye, causing him to shudder. Kami, he didn't want the fight to end up like that. It was one thing to kill from a distance with a kunai or seal, but to actually cut someone's throat...He shuddered again. '_Maybe this will get better over time. Maybe.' _He sighed. Who was he kidding? Time never made things better; the villagers still thought him a monster even after twelve years. He sat down on a bench beside a lamppost, and put his head in his hands, the kill replaying in his mind. He started to shiver, and then grow nauseous. As he was about to black out, a voice broke through his thoughts.

"N-Naruto-kun? A-are you a-alright?" He looked up to see the Hyuuga heiress Hinata looking at him worriedly.

He smiled hollowly, and replied, "Yeah, Hinata, just a bit sick, that's all." The girl turned slightly red at his words, and again Naruto wondered if _she _didn't have a cold, but then the red faded, replaced by a concerned expression.

"A-are you s-sure?" she asked. He finally met her eyes, and she gasped quietly. She remembered his cerulean eyes to be full of life and optimism, but now…now they were despairing and painful. Before she could properly think, she sat down beside him. "Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" she asked, not stammering a single word. He looked at her, and smiled that smile that she loved so much, but Hinata could see it was a show now. It was plain as his eyes.

"Nothing. Don't worry about me. After all, I'm not Konoha's hyperactive knucklehead for nothing," answered Naruto, looking up at the crystal blue sky.

Hinata frowned. She contemplated on the option of shaking the answer out of him, but instead said quietly, "You d-don't have to h-hide." His head snapped toward her, and he gave her a calculating look.

After a minute of scrutiny, Naruto said hesitantly, "That mission my team just returned from, the C-rank, right?" She nodded, wanting him to continue. "It was fine until we were on the return journey, and then we were attacked." She gave a gasp, and stared at him with her huge, moon-like eyes. "It was a group of about sixty bandits. Kakashi-sensei took twenty, and we took forty. We were just about done when one snuck up behind me and swung his sword at me. Sasuke yelled to warn me, and I ducked and-and-" He sobbed, holding his head in hands and pulling at his hair. "I killed him, Hinata. I didn't want to, but I did. Maybe what the villagers say about is true. Maybe I am the Kyuubi." He sat there pitifully, ripping out strands of his hair.

Hinata had heard what the residents had murmured about the blonde; that he was the Kyuubi, the incarnation of the beast, the beast's container. She had eventually come to the conclusion that the fox had been sealed into Naruto when she was ten or so; but instead of distancing herself from the blonde like everyone else did, she admired him for his perseverance and determination. He was a hero of the village, yet the villagers were too dim to see that. She wanted to comfort him, but how?

Naruto's mind was in turmoil as the bloody memories resurfaced and began anew. He thought there was no salvation for him in this veritable mental hell, but a soothing warmth enveloped him, and slowly he was wrenched from the torturous depths of his mind. He looked to see the arms of the Hyuuga heiress wrapped tightly around him. She spoke softly, reassuringly, not stumbling over a single word, "Naruto-kun, don't believe the villagers. You are _not _the fox. I knew the truth about the Kyuubi since I was ten, but I never gave up on you. You have endless determination, and being remorseful about killing proves that you are not the Kyuubi. A true monster would not feel anything, but anything, but you…you would feel sorry about killing a fly," she gave a choked giggle, from which Naruto realized she was crying, "So don't believe what the villagers tell; you are Naruto Uzumaki, the hyperactive knucklehead of Konoha, and the future Hokage. Don't ever let people tell you otherwise."

Her words reverberated deep inside Naruto, whose grief was slowly fading away. A single thankful tear fell from his face as he hugged Hinata back. "Thanks Hinata. I needed that," he whispered, squeezing her close. Hinata pulled away from him, and gave him a watery smile.

"N-no n-need to t-thank m-me, N-Naruto-kun," she said, wiping her eyes. He smiled at her, and then looked at the sun, which was now slowly setting.

"Hinata, it's getting late, and I have to be somewhere tonight," for some reason he didn't want to tell why, "Do you want me to walk you home?" She nodded, and the blonde smiled. They got up, and slowly they walked in the direction of the Hyuuga complex. About halfway there, Naruto spoke, "So, Hinata, what do you do in your spare time?"

"I-I press f-flowers sometimes, b-but usually I-I train w-with m-my clan," she replied, looking down at the last part, something that didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

* * *

At the Uchiha complex, a completely random though popped in Sasuke's mind, '_It's amazing how this dobe can read people so effectively, yet be totally clueless to other things.' _He frowned at the thought but then shrugged and launched a ball of lightning at a practice dummy.

* * *

"How does the training go?" asked Naruto, not wanting to be blunt like he usually was.

Hinata visibly hesitated, and answered, "I-it g-goes f-fine." Naruto had noticed the hesitation and increased stuttering, and thought, '_Something's not right. The way Hinata-chan's acting…it's like me when I'm alone. Wait, does that mean-?' _The blonde hadn't noticed when he had unconsciously added the –chan to Hinata's name, and he turned toward her.

"Hinata, if you don't mind answering, does your family look down on you?" In shock, she nodded in confirmation. "Why?"

"T-they, t-they s-see m-me a-as a-an f-failure," stuttered Hinata, looking at the ground in shame. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up in surprise to see Naruto looking her directly in the eyes.

"Hinata, can you do one thing for me?" She nodded. "Don't listen to them. You're not a failure, just like I'm not the fox. You have a big heart, and I like you because of that. You never gave up on me, and I give you my word that I will never give up on you." He held out his hand, which she shook. He smiled at her. "From now on, Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki will never abandon each other, even if the hardest obstacles stand in our path. We swear on it," said Naruto, the last sentence being said in unison.

Hinata felt her heart lift at her crush's words, and said, "I'm not a failure. I will be the heiress to the Hyuuga clan."

"Damn right!" shouted Naruto with a grin, earning him annoyed glances from other villagers. She giggled, and they walked the rest of the distance to the Hyuuga complex in comfortable silence. As they stood in front of the gate, Naruto hugged Hinata. "Thanks for everything, Hinata. You're actually nice and awesome. Heh-heh, I used to think you were kinda weird, but now that I know you, I actually really like you!" She blushed brightly, and waved her goodbye. She walked through the complex to her room. Inside, the events of the evening replayed through her head, and she thought, '_I was so close to him…I-I told him so much…Naruto-kun hugging me…HUGGING ME!'_ She gave a small 'eep' before fainting and falling on her futon.

* * *

The sun was setting in the west, and Sakura waited in front of Ichiraku. She was a bit early, to be honest. It was about five minutes before seven, but there was no sign of Naruto. She crossed her arms and leaned against the stand's wall. Her eyes glazed over as her mind wandered. Eventually, about a minute before the appointed time, Naruto rushed over to Sakura. "Sorry, Sakura-chan! I was doing a few things, and time kinda rushed by me!" he explained, rubbing the back of his head. Sakura giggled.

"No problem. As long as you're not Kakashi," she said. Naruto looked at her, and she saw that his eyes were now clear, the life back in them. '_Whatever he did must've really helped. That's good.'_ Naruto grinned at her, a genuine grin, and they walked into the shop. A strange feeling washed over Sakura, and it took her a moment to place it: dread. Why, of all places and times? She shook the feeling off, and sat down next to Naruto. An old man came over and smiled at the two of them.

"Hey, Naruto! Is this your girlfriend?" he asked jokingly, taking out a notepad and pen.

Naruto blushed. "Well, uh, Sakura-chan's here a friend, I guess, but this is a date, so…" He glanced at her. She was compelled to nod, but withheld it. "I guess not." The old man chuckled, and took their orders. Naruto turned toward her, and asked, "So, Sakura-chan, has anything happened in your life, besides our mission, of course?

'_You have no idea,' _she thought, smiling. Another wave of dread washed over her, and she shrugged it off. Nothing could happen. "Well, you know about my elemental training, and that's about it. I really don't do much except study medical ninjutsu outside of training."

Naruto sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I need to get Kakashi-sensei to teach me that elemental stuff. I hope he doesn't try to put it off." He sighed again, and rested his elbows on the table. "Well, I've gotten to mid-advanced fuinjutsu. Thank Kami for shadow clones. I can make any seal from storage seal to explosive tag. The paralysis tag I used on Kiba is also another one. Besides that…I can't think of anything." He glanced at Sakura. "Ever wanted to go anywhere? Like the Land of Iron or Wind? I've heard that Iron even has samurais!" At the mention of the Land of Iron, an unbidden memory came to the surface. It was based in the Land of Iron, in the other timeline.

_Naruto was sitting on beside an inn and Sakura, Sai, Lee, and Kiba slowly approached him. He didn't turn to acknowledge them; he kept staring up at the sky, lost in thought. All of the twelve stopped about six feet away, and Sakura stepped up. "Naruto," she called. He turned his head, and smiled slightly. He rose and stood in front of her. '_Here it goes,'_ she thought. "Naruto, I have something to tell you. I've fallen in love with you." Lee exclaimed at this, and Naruto simply stared at her._

_"I, Sakura-chan, what did you say? I must have something in my ears. Say that again," he asked, the dumbfounded look still on his face._

_"Naruto, I said I've fallen in love with you. That Sasuke-kun means nothing to me now. I don't know why I ever like him. I'm confessing how I feel about you, so the least you could do is listen!" _

_Naruto stared at her, and then slowly bent his head. He looked up again after a moment, and asked, "But why? Why now? If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny, Sakura-chan. I mean, what happened?"_

_Sakura mentally gulped and replied, "Nothing in particular. I finally opened my eyes. How can I love a rogue ninja, a traitor, and a criminal? I'm not a child anymore. I can see things as they really are. You can forget all about that stupid promise now. Why don't you and I forget all about chasing after Sasuke-kun?" Yamato tried to force his way to the two, but was stopped by Kakashi. Sakura remember that she had made the promise to tell him about this, but now…it felt awkward._

_Naruto, after a moment, said, "Seriously, what happened, Sakura-chan? This is all coming out of nowhere-"_

_"Nothing! I have plenty of reasons to love you!" interrupted Sakura. Naruto's face hardened as he remembered all the things that Sakura had said to and about Sasuke, but was broken out of it by a hug from Sakura. "Sasuke-kun only gets farther and farther away, but you've always been there, Naruto, supporting me. I finally see you for who you really are. You're a savoir of the village. Everyone back home loves you now too. I'm just one among many. Bit by bit, you've grown from a prankster and a slacker to a strong, dependable young man, and I've seen it happen right before my eyes. But Sasuke-kun has just compounded his crimes. He broke my heart. He's become a completely different person, one who exists far away from us, but you're here, Naruto. I can hold you. I feel safe with you. I mean it from the bottom of my heart, I love-" She was cut off by Naruto, who grabbed her by her shoulders._

_"Cut it out, Sakura-chan! I told you, this isn't funny!" He looked her straight in the eyes._

_She answered hesitantly, "Why're you getting angry? I just moved on from Sasuke-kun to you. Girls can be fickle, you know?" _

_Naruto's eyes hardened and he squeezed her shoulders. He said forcefully, "I hate people who lie to themselves!"_

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice broke through her trance, and she started slightly.

"What?" she asked blankly, blinking her eyes. The words of the future Naruto echoed in her mind, and she tried to ignore it.

"Oh, the food's here. You were kinda gazing off into space. Didn't want your ramen to get cold," he replied, grinning. She smiled wanly, and started to eat mechanically, meanwhile pondering her decision on taking this date. '_Maybe this isn't such a great idea…Ah, who am I kidding? I don't love Sasuke, and I do mean what I said to Naruto…but what it actual romantic love? Was it love like between siblings? Gah! I never liked to discuss my feelings, even with myself!' _

'**_CHA! Pick which guy you like and stick with him!_**_' _exclaimed her Inner Self, startling her. She hadn't heard from it in a long time.

'_But I'm torn between the two. Naruto's sweet, dependable, and courageous, and Sasuke is… a traitor at least, though I have to admit he is more handsome.'_ She sighed, catching Naruto's attention.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" he asked, pushing aside his bowl. She shook her head, and he frowned but didn't pry.

'_Naruto's also worried about me a lot, and Sasuke's nearly killed me a dozen times. Tell me, Inner Self, who sounds like the better choice?' _

It remained silent until Sakura was pretty sure it had gone dormant again, until it shouted, '**_CHA! Look at how Sasuke-kun's acting now! He's trying to turn over a new leaf, and you haven't listened to him!_**'

'_That's because Sasuke has said that before, and then turned around and stabbed me in the back. I don't trust him fully yet.'_

_'__**Yet. And you said you do trust him! CHA!'**_Sakura sighed again, and she finished her meal without saying a single word, much to the blonde's disappointment.

"Sakura-chan, are you sure you're alright?" he asked, taking out his frog wallet to pay for the both of them. She smiled at him, and rose from her seat. One question kept echoing in her head: Do I really love Naruto?

'…_I don't know. I used to love Sasuke, yes, but do I still? Or has Naruto stolen back my heart?' _She remembered how she had reacted each time she had encountered the Uchiha after he had defected from the village. At Orochimaru's hideout, her heart had sunk and lifted at the possibility to bring back Sasuke. At the Kage Summit, her heart had fluttered even as Sasuke had gazed at her with maniacal, bloodthirsty eyes. But why? Why had she loved him?

'**_Because once a heart is stolen, it can never be given back fully. The thief is the true keeper_**,' said her Inner Self, speaking in a soft tone for once. Its words struck her deeply, and she clutched her chest, the spot right where her heart was.

"Sakura-chan, please tell me what's wrong," said Naruto concernedly, putting a hand on her shoulder. His touch reminded her of the Land of Iron, the words repeating over and over in her head. She shrugged off his hand and walked out of the stand. She hung her head, but lifted it when she heard the fall of running feet behind her. Naruto stepped in front of her, and pleaded, "Sakura-chan, something's bothering you. Please tell me what." She shook her head again and tried to walk by Naruto, who stopped her. "Sakura-chan, maybe I can fix it," he said softly. Sakura looked at him through saddened eyes.

"Then answer one question, Naruto. Do you love me? Without a single doubt?" she asked. Naruto opened his mouth to respond with an affirmative, but something held him back. Did he? A week ago he wouldn't have hesitated to agree, but now…A pair of lavender eyes stared at him in his mind's eye. '_Hinata-chan…Do I really love Sakura-chan, or is this just a childish crush?' _

"I-I don't know," replied Naruto, looking down at the ground. Sakura smiled weakly at him.

"Then this will be easier. Naruto…I don't think I'll ever love you. Someone else has stolen my heart. Though that someone…" she trailed off, thinking of the Uchiha. She didn't trust him yet, yes, but slowly, he was working his way back. Maybe Sasuke wasn't hopeless.

Naruto blinked at her words, and felt his heart fall through the ground. This was the final rejection; there would be no more. He had strangely braced for the words though, as if he knew they were coming. Still, the pain was unimaginable. "Do you really mean that, Sakura?" he asked, dropping the honorific. She nodded, and he turned and walked toward his house with Sakura staring at his back until he rounded the corner.

Sakura's words echoed in Naruto's mind, but curiously it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He had known of course that Sakura had loved Sasuke (yes, he did figure it out), and now with this it was final: Naruto would forever see Sakura as a friend. '_Good luck, teme. You'll need it,' _thought Naruto. The words of Sakura eventually stopped, and he looked up at the moon, and was instantly reminded of someone. He grinned. Maybe it was time for a change.

**Hmmm, is it just me, or are my chapters slowly getting longer? Eh, anyway, what'd you think? If I go too fast during the date, sorry. I'm kinda horrible with emotions, I never really get into intense emotion in my life, so I take examples from books. But if something is unsatisfactory, review or something, and I'll fix it. I might have another filler chapter, then the Wave with a few twists.**


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